Rural v. Urban

Who is right? Are you sure?

Rural v Urban

Most people are aware that urban citizens are largely ‘liberal’ democrats and that rural folks are generally ‘conservative’ republicans.  But, why?  I grew up in suburbia, taught in Bible belt rural America, and have lived the rest of my life in the central city.  I think I’m as qualified as anyone to delve into this.

First, I’ll take as a given that our great leaders NEVER delve into this themselves. The castigation, finger pointing, accusations and so forth go on and on, but nobody asks why.  Aren’t we all Americans?  Don’t we all want the same things? SHOULD we all want the same things?

Let’s start with the obvious:  Nobody has to live where they are.  Rural folks generally prefer rural life and urban folks prefer urban life.  What is the difference?  I know pretty well, because I’ve lived it all.  Rural people are far more self-reliant. They know each other, work together, not just philosophically but physically. They solve problems together outside of government. They would rather be poor than be provided for by a sugar daddy. Recent events in Asheville NC, after hurricane Helene are a case in point.

Urban folks look to government.  Problems are solved, not by individual effort, but by official committees and bureaucracies. Money is presumed to appear from nowhere. Urban folks are far more organized, but far less effective at achieving their goals. One reason for this may be that goals get diluted and polluted by the sheer numbers of people involved.

All of the above constitutes gross generalization.  But I see it as the essence of what the issues are, why this country is polarized between ‘them’ and ‘us’.  Yet, there are abortions in rural areas, and Christian fundamentalists in urban areas.  Almost any issue has its supporters and detractors, regardless of where you are.

That makes me wonder about something. Why do we align geographically rather than philosophically? Why don’t the ‘Women’s right to choose’ folks all take one side, regardless of whether they’re urban and rural, and the right to lifers all do the same?  One thing seems evident: We don’t want to piss off our neighbors.  That seems to trump pollical philosophy.  And that’s probably a good thing. So, where liberals are the majority, the area is known as liberal, and people just ignore that there are conservatives also.  Again, same for conservative areas. Add to that the desire of people to go along, and many people will drift in whatever direction everyone around them is going.

We all hear our fearless leaders pontificate about or divided country. They assure us that they speak for all Americans, even as the denigrate half of America. They say they want to bring us together, and then they divide us. The two parties do not want us thinking for ourselves.  They do not want us telling them what it is that we want, they want to continue to con us into supporting what they want, and then think that it was our idea. You’ll never see the concept of ‘divide and conquer’ practiced so fiercely as you do during election season.  And it works like a charm.  For them, but not for us.  Not for most Americans, be they ‘liberal’ or ‘conservative’.  It works for the political class.  As far as they’re concerned, THEY are the only America that matters.

And how do our politicians communicate their propaganda to us?  Through the media, of course.  And here’s where I might be able to add some other insights that you weren’t aware of.  Consider the mainstream media generally.  Who do they represent, who do they report on and about? That’s right, city folk.  Perhaps that’s just convenient.  There’s no major news studio or newspaper office in a rural town.  They’re in NYC, Washington DC, Chicago, etc.  They are not in Owensville, Morristown, or Leestown or any small town.  So, we hear the urban view.  We see the urban view.  It is reported as if that is the only view that matters.  Urban citizens are bound to come away with the presumption that urban matters matter, and rural ones need not be considered.  Am I wrong?  Do you see the mainstream media covering ALL of America equally and impartially?

So, what is a rural person to do?  Should they watch media that castigate them, refers to them as ‘flyover country’ and as people who ‘cling to their guns and their religion’?  They used to have no choice, but now they do.  They have the internet. We can all drill down into any specific topic, region, philosophy that we want to. The major media know this, and they try to exploit the internet.  But do you know who is far more successful at it?  That’s right, those small-time folks in flyover country. They have their own shows, their own networking, and, so far, they can’t be shut down. If you are urban, and your source of what you think is real comes from mainstream media, you might want to visit Rumble, Substack, Parler, Odysee, Locals and any number of other sites.  You might be offended at some of what you see, but I have found little that is any more offensive than the officially sanctioned bigotry of the major networks and the major newspapers.

I don’t think anyone is born liberal or conservative. I think we learn these things.  But who are the teachers?  They are our parents and caregivers, our schools, and the media. In my youth, when I was being influenced, nobody was trying to subvert my parents. Nobody would have dared to do such a thing.  Now, government, in the guise of ‘education’ is largely usurping the ultimate authority in a child’s education, the parents. That’s not the first time this has happened.  It happened in the 1930s, in Germany, under Hitler’s Youth. If you, or anyone you know, thinks that the state has primary rights and responsibility to raise children, YOU are the problem.  YOU are the tyrant.

Conflict is to be expected in a free society.  Conflict is to be desired.  It is the only way to sort through ideas and find what works best for YOU. If your confidence in your ideas are so weak that you are afraid of their being challenged by somebody or something else, then once again, you are the problem. Let schools, parents, churches and anybody else have their say.  And don’t just admit their right to say it, recognize your responsibility to listen.

And don’t presume that hearing the same thing over and over again from the same people constitutes expanding your knowledge.  It serves only to cement your bias. There is the story of the three blind men and the elephant. Metaphorically speaking, none of us can see the entire elephant.  We can only hope to comprehend the elephant by communicating with others who know other parts of that beast. Together, we can get some idea of the reality. It is amazing and supremely sad, in this day of instant world-wide communication, that so little is communicated.  So little is comprehended. Our media are not there to inform us, they are there to sell to us.

They don’t want us to comprehend the beast.  The more we comprehend, the less we need the major media. I have found that, regardless of political slant, the major media barely skim the surface of issues (Issues that they created in the first place).  They talk and they talk and they talk.  But, really, how much do they say? For example, abortion has legitimate considerations, ranging far beyond merely being for it or against it.  Yet the MSM media do little more than promote their one side.  And that encourages many people to also just take a side. That is absurdly simplistic.

Same for education, healthcare and retirement. If you want to comprehend as little as possible, yet feel confident that you are on the ‘right’ side, watch, read and listen to your chosen MSM.  If you want to comprehend, and see all sides, check out all those whackos on the internet.  You’ll learn a few things.

But perhaps I’m just preaching to the choir:  You’re ON the internet right now. And, depending on who you ask, I’m a whacko.  And proud of it.

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