On Election Night 2012, Anson County once again voted heavily Democrat. It’s somewhat ironic that in a time when Republicans took over North Carolina’s government completely for the first time since 1898, the Democratic Party celebrated a national victory with the re-election of President Barack Obama. What results is what many are calling “a divided nation.”

Anson County is part of that division, in a sense, because it was one of only 30 out of North Carolina’s 100 counties to go to Obama in the election. This from a state that helped Obama win his first term in 2008.

So what has happened in the past four years? Are we really that divided as a nation, and as a state?

Let’s hope not. Granted, politics is a tricky game but during his acceptance speech, President Obama said he would reach out to Republican leaders in a show of unity. At the same time, Democrat Larry Kissell, who lost his 8th District Congress seat to Republican challenger Richard Hudson, said in a statement he would be willing to work with Hudson to help ease the transition. Hudson, in turn, said he is “committed to working with Republicans and Democrats to achieve a better North Carolina.”

Hopefully, the willingness to work together for the greater good is more than just political rhetoric. If our country, our state and our county are going to recover from the recession, that’s exactly what it will take — red states, blue states, blue counties and red counties working together to figure out the problems and come up with solutions.

As the old saying goes, a nation divided against itself cannot stand.