HAPPY TO LIVE IN FLYOVER COUNTRY

Once upon a time, there was a young girl who couldn’t wait to get out of town. She thought big cities like New York and Los Angeles sounded far more appealing as a place to live out her adult life.  But after college, she didn’t have more than $50 in her bank account, so she settled for the nearest big city—Chicago.  After that, she moved to Miami, and then the  1972 meltdown brought her back home to Indiana with her young family. And somehow, she never left.  And now, in the midst of all this upheaval in our nation’s capitol, she’s happy to live in flyover country.  

Happy to live in flyover country. Here in the heartland, we aren't apt to riot over politics.
After the riots in Washington DC, I’m happy to live in flyover country.

That’s not to say that people in the  Heartland don’t have strong opinions.  We’ve lived here long enough to have family and friends at both ends of the political spectrum. They will passionately argue and defend their viewpoints.  We see trucks flying  American flags rumbling through the city.  And there are Black Lives Matter signs in many quiet, middle class neighborhoods.  So yes, people do care. But riot in the streets?  Storm the courthouse?  I don’t think so.  There’s no big city anonymity here.  Having grown up in the same place, most of us have friends and acquaintances from grade school on up through college and the workplace.  We’re not going to start rioting against our fellow churchgoers, relatives, colleagues and friends.

I was born in New York City, but the great depression drew my family back to the safety and security of the family farm.  Still, I often dreamed of what my life might have been like had we been able to stay.  Now, I’m very glad we didn’t. Did you know that people are leaving New York City in droves?

Here in flyover country, I’ve lived in a state where Democrat Evan Bayh was a much loved Governor and Senator. He  was repeatedly  voted into office by both Democrats and Republicans.  Our current Republican Governor Holcomb won re-election by a landslide.  Both  men are known for their common sense approach to government, and have a down to earth persona that appealed to people throughout the state. There was nothing in the temperament of either man that was– or is–likely to incite a riot. So yes, I’m happy  to live in flyover country.

Will Election 2020 End The Troubles?

Remember “the troubles” in Northern Ireland that went on for about forty years ?  We visited Belfast soon after the peace agreement was signed in 1998, but there was still plenty of tension .  In fact, as our tour bus entered the city, armed militia stopped us, and walked through the bus, checking for whatever?  Maybe to see if anyone had a gun?  Clearly the peace agreement between, British Loyalists and Irish Nationalists  hadn’t ended the troubles.  Will the 2020 election end the troubles in the USA?

People in America were lined up for hours on the first day of early voting yesterday.   Early voters are not undecided. Those who were  interviewed expressed strong feelings for their  candidate of choice..  While I applaud all the interest in voting, it makes you wonder what will happen,  no matter who wins.

If Trump wins, will women stop having abortions or go underground? Will the Black Lives Matter movement grow stronger?   Will rioting and protesting escalate out of control?

Will troubles end on election day?Or will they escalate no matter who wins.
Will Election 2020 End Troubles for America? It seems likely that it won’t.

If Biden wins, will Trump supporters  turn in their guns?  Will they  welcome immigrants flooding into  the country receiving free medical care? Will they meekly agree to another lockdown and shut down their businesses?  If none of the above, look for trouble.

There was another contentious election day back in 1960. A lot of people opposed  having a Catholic president, but he won, anyway.  The troubles didn’t end when John F. Kennedy was elected, then assassinated two years later.  In fact, what followed was an escalation of our involvement  in Vietnam– the longest war in American History.

Both Biden and Trump say they want to unite the country. That seems like wishful thinking. America’s troubles will not end on election day.