America's becoming one big metropolis

[DiogenesTheWiser]

http://statchatva.org/2016/06/06/the-metropolitanization-of-rural-america/

Rural areas have no jobs, opportunities, affordable housing -- rather, they all serve the nearby city. See map, linked above.

After the el presidente runs the federal government into the ground, all we're going to be are city-states that fight with each other for turf and resources.

 

[ttystikk]

http://statchatva.org/2016/06/06/the-metropolitanization-of-rural-america/

Rural areas have no jobs, opportunities, affordable housing -- rather, they all serve the nearby city. See map, linked above.

After the el presidente runs the federal government into the ground, all we're going to be are city-states that fight with each other for turf and resources.

...or, we unite and work together for shared prosperity.

That's a choice we as a nation can make. It requires questioning the narratives of our chosen media platforms and making our own decisions about what's best for our country.

Left vs Right, Liberal vs Conservative, Democratic vs Republican, Urban vs Rural, Tech vs Ag; these are all paradigms presented to us as the only options we have- usually by those who benefit from dividing us against ourselves.

We now have access to better tools to utilize and more options than ever before to educate ourselves to the breadth and depth of our options and to choose those that work best for us, rather than The Powers That Be.

 

[DiogenesTheWiser]

...or, we unite and work together for shared prosperity.

That's a choice we as a nation can make. It requires questioning the narratives of our chosen media platforms and making our own decisions about what's best for our country.

Left vs Right, Liberal vs Conservative, Democratic vs Republican, Urban vs Rural, Tech vs Ag; these are all paradigms presented to us as the only options we have- usually by those who benefit from dividing us against ourselves.

We now have access to better tools to utilize and more options than ever before to educate ourselves to the breadth and depth of our options and to choose those that work best for us, rather than The Powers That Be.

Shee-it!

That's "southernese" for "I disagree."

Americans, likely, will not work together. Only a few instances in history when Americans did that and even so many social upheavals occurred.

I appreciate your optimism, but lately we're a nation of 330 million individuals, each with a gun in a hand and a sign in the other one that reads "don't tread on me." I don't know what would take Americans' gaze off of their devices long enough for unity.

 

[ttystikk]

Shee-it!

That's "southernese" for "I disagree."

Americans, likely, will not work together. Only a few instances in history when Americans did that and even so many social upheavals occurred.

I appreciate your optimism, but lately we're a nation of 330 million individuals, each with a gun in a hand and a sign in the other one that reads "don't tread on me." I don't know what would take Americans' gaze off of their devices long enough for unity.

I do; 'opportunity', of the kind we've been looking for from our political system for decades and haven't seen. Rather than wait for someone else to provide it, I'm increasingly seeing evidence of people rolling up their sleeves and getting involved themselves, to me a very heartening trend.

 

[DiogenesTheWiser]

I do; 'opportunity', of the kind we've been looking for from our political system for decades and haven't seen. Rather than wait for someone else to provide it, I'm increasingly seeing evidence of people rolling up their sleeves and getting involved themselves, to me a very heartening trend.

I guess it's all about where you live. All I see in North Louisiana are people scratching on their phones while buying lottery tickets and scarfing down greasy fries. If I were back in D.C., maybe I'd be experiencing what you've alluded to here.

 

[ttystikk]

I guess it's all about where you live. All I see in North Louisiana are people scratching on their phones while buying lottery tickets and scarfing down greasy fries. If I were back in D.C., maybe I'd be experiencing what you've alluded to here.

I don't live in DC. I live in northern Colorado, one of the most tech savvy, egalitarian and entrepreneurial parts of the country. (Evidence to back those assertions available upon request)

I'd imagine that if I lived in DC I'd be part of the establishment, having chosen one side or the other long ago.

 

[schuylaar]

I guess it's all about where you live. All I see in North Louisiana are people scratching on their phones while buying lottery tickets and scarfing down greasy fries. If I were back in D.C., maybe I'd be experiencing what you've alluded to here.

I would never spend my money on gambling. Why do poor people spend their hard earned money this way? Alcohol, Tobacco and Lottery..I guess Lottery is hope.

 

[ttystikk]

I would never spend my money on gambling. Why do poor people spend their hard earned money this way? Alcohol, Tobacco and Lottery..I guess Lottery is hope.

Lottery;
1. Poor man's retirement plan

2. Tax on people who are bad at math

 

[DiogenesTheWiser]

I would never spend my money on gambling. Why do poor people spend their hard earned money this way? Alcohol, Tobacco and Lottery..I guess Lottery is hope.

Lots of reasons. I think it's partly no hope, but also a lot of cultural reasons. I'm brushing with a broad brush, but many NOrth Louisiana residents are active in their churches. Evangelical religion purports that our lives in the here and now might not be great, but as long as you live right and worship right, you'll be rewarded with paradise in the afterlife. So, for many, I think they believe things suck, but I'm going to heaven some day. Maybe others think that earthly life is supposed to suck. But the point here is that the here and now is, spiritually to many, not that important, so why change it? Why fret over it.

Given that most North Louisiana residents are very poor, this religious or spiritual component only goes so far, so they gamble, drink, and smoke, and they probably don't see their religion as being all against any of those behaviors. Why would God declare sinful certain behaviors that make the here and now bearable? Southerners compartmentalize their spiritual ideas when they brush up on the here and now.

Education is pitiful here. People of means send their kids to Christian academies that range from really good to pitifully bad. The public schools are sports factories, and as such people grow up placing high value on entertainment as the be-all end-all of existence.

I'm probably wrong, but that's my assessment after a year here.

 

[ttystikk]

Lots of reasons. I think it's partly no hope, but also a lot of cultural reasons. I'm brushing with a broad brush, but many NOrth Louisiana residents are active in their churches. Evangelical religion purports that our lives in the here and now might not be great, but as long as you live right and worship right, you'll be rewarded with paradise in the afterlife. So, for many, I think they believe things suck, but I'm going to heaven some day. Maybe others think that earthly life is supposed to suck. But the point here is that the here and now is, spiritually to many, not that important, so why change it? Why fret over it.

Given that most North Louisiana residents are very poor, this religious or spiritual component only goes so far, so they gamble, drink, and smoke, and they probably don't see their religion as being all against any of those behaviors. Why would God declare sinful certain behaviors that make the here and now bearable? Southerners compartmentalize their spiritual ideas when they brush up on the here and now.

Education is pitiful here. People of means send their kids to Christian academies that range from really good to pitifully bad. The public schools are sports factories, and as such people grow up placing high value on entertainment as the be-all end-all of existence.

I'm probably wrong, but that's my assessment after a year here.

I think your assessment is spot on.

Religion, especially as practiced in poor and rural areas, is very much an opiate of the masses, to keep them from realizing how badly they're being screwed over by those in power. That's a dynamic playing out all across the Bible Belt.