Although my husband and I live in the city, we have an acre of land, and are surrounded by farmland. As we drove past thirsty cornfields on the way to the cemetery on Memorial Day, we thought about the anxious farmers who planted those fields. You see, my husband grew up on a farm in Nebraska, and my grandfather owned a farm in Indiana. And even though I lived in big cities like Chicago and Miami for a couple of decades, I never forgot the importance of rain.
Over the weekend, I read a fascinating book written by activist Cecile Richards, and it occurred to me that perhaps it offered an explanation of the great divide between big city liberals and heartland conservatives. In general, people in flyover country don’t really have the time to devote their lives to activism. They’re too busy producing the food that appears miraculously in New York and LA supermarkets for the people who live in high rise apartment buildings, and never have to worry about mowing their lawns.
I thought about this last night while I was cleaning up my garden. It finally rained, so I could stop watering the flowerbeds and grass, and get to work. I broke a pretty good sweat while down on my knees, tugging on weeds in the good, moist soil while my activist sisters in big cities were busy planning protests and hoping it wouldn’t rain. Here in the heartland, people don’t have their heads in the clouds, they’re literally more down to earth.
I am not saying that’s good or bad; and I’m not defending either side of the political spectrum, but it may explain the difference in the mindset of middle America vs the east and west coasts. Of course, we have our share of liberals and activists, especially on college campuses everywhere in the United States. But generally speaking, people in small cities and towns in the Midwest are more focused on just making a living and getting by, and yes, praying for rain.
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