Complex Problems: Part 5 – Urban/Rural Divide

Let me begin by stating that I was raised on a farm. For the first 18 years of my life, farming was the only life I knew. Indeed, I fully expected to, one day, take over the family farm. It was only 160 acres in size, but it provided a reasonable living. Then I went to the state university where I was exposed to people from around the world and a vast array of other possible professions, which eventually led me to a degree in journalism and life in the city. After retiring, I returned to rural communities for several years.

All of this is to say that I believe I understand the unique issues facing people in both environments. And though the lifestyles are vastly different, the political views are worlds apart.

Reduced to stereotypes and generalities, people in the cities tend to think of their rural counterparts as uneducated country bumpkins. And people in rural communities tend to think of city dwellers as soft, overeducated, and overpaid elitists.

Of course, neither stereotype is true.

Today, many farms are large corporations with the family farmer operating as a combination farmhand, heavy equipment operator, veterinarian, mechanic, accountant, investment manager and CEO. And those living in small, rural communities are heavily entrepreneurial. Many have college degrees. They may own and operate a store, restaurant, hair salon, bank, car dealership or some other independent business. Many, like some of their big city counterparts, work in a big box store or manufacturing plant. And some drive many miles to the city to work in an office.

As for the city dwellers, many are office workers or work in warehouses and manufacturing plants. Others operate small businesses. Some drive delivery trucks. Indeed, there are a myriad of jobs. Percentage wise, very few are corporate executives. And because the costs are higher, most are hard-working people trying to eke out a comfortable living for their families.

So, as you can see, rural and urban people have more in common than they have differences. But when it comes to politics…

For one thing, in rural farming and ranching areas, guns and hunting are part of life. Many of the residents resent attempts to limit sales of guns and ammunition to solve what they consider big city crime. They falsely believe that they are overtaxed to subsidize big cities. (Actually, the reverse is true.) And, in rural areas, residents are more likely to belong to traditional churches which are central to many of life’s events: Weddings, funerals, fundraisers for neighbors down on their luck, holiday celebrations, etc.

In addition, the socioeconomic problems in rural areas are more extreme than in the city. It begins with consolidation. Today, Midwestern farms are upwards of 10 times larger than when I lived on the farm. That means there are roughly one-tenth of the number of jobs in rural towns. Their Main Streets are being hollowed out by Walmart, which based its growth model on competing with locally owned stores in small towns. Adding to the problem is our increased mobility. Rural consumers are often willing to drive long distances to shop in big cities for lower prices and greater selection.

Far too often, jobs in the few remaining rural manufacturing plants are exported to the cities, or worse…to foreign countries. There’s also the brain drain caused by many high school and college graduates leaving home for what they perceive as greater opportunities in cities.

All of this has led to the ongoing shrinkage of small towns. That is, unless they happen to be located within 30 or 40 miles of a large city. In those cases, they often become exurbs overwhelmed by development. As a result, the lifestyle they chose – the only lifestyle they know – is changing or dying. Their houses are declining in value. They feel trapped.

These problems are amplified by rightwing radio hosts and Fox News Channel. Almost all plumbers, carpenters, tradesmen and laborers take radios to their worksite. And, almost inevitably, those radios are tuned to the Mark Levins and the Alex Jones of the broadcast world who tell listeners their problems are caused by government, undocumented immigrants, DEI, city elites, and “libtards.” You’ll also hear radios in trucks and tractors tuned to the same hate-based “news” and “entertainment.” Likewise, local bars and cafes often have TVs permanently set to Fox News.

In other words, these people have become victims of propaganda. And extremists in the Republican Party (Are there any others?) are right there to take advantage.

So, where are the Democrats? They’re seldom anywhere to be seen…until election season. You see, nearly 20 years ago, the Democratic Party made the decision to invest its money where the most people are…in the cities. They pulled funding from rural counties. And they all but disappeared. The result was all too predictable.

That was evidenced when a couple of years ago, I volunteered to help with a Democratic booth at a couple of county fairs in reliably blue Minnesota. We were scoffed at, yelled at, labeled baby killers, and threatened by what I am sure are otherwise good people.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

We actually agree on most policies when they are not attached to party labels. We can have reasonable, albeit intense conversations with each other without threats and name-calling. All that’s required is respect for one another as fellow human beings. And for Democrats to be visible and available all year and every year. Not just preceding an election.

I believe the Democratic Party – in fact, both parties – would get far greater returns on their investments by operating and maintaining local offices, by holding meetings with constituents, by creating an ongoing dialogue with voters, than by spending billions on TV commercials.

The Moral Cost Of Food.

This past week, a couple of announcements stood out to me. One was that scientists were having a taste test of their “test tube” burger…meat that was grown from stem cells. Two was the announcement that the world is pretty much “maxed out” when it comes to meat and dairy production.

These announcements happened to coincide with a party I attended in which we were served beef that had a name. The host had grown the steer from a calf; feeding it and caring for it as part of the family.

All of this caused me to reflect on how far we have come with regard to food production since I left the family farm.

When I left the farm in the 1960’s, most farm animals had not yet become a commodity. Cattle were still allowed to graze in pastures. Milk was a by-product of breeding cattle to replace and enlarge the herd. Hogs were given room to roam. Sheep became self-propelled lawnmowers that also provided wool once a year. And poultry were allowed to roam the homestead before being locked up each night to protect them from predators.

How things have changed!

Today, calves are scarcely weaned from their mothers before being crammed into a feedlot with feed troughs fed by automated augers. Dairy cattle are confined in enormous barns and bred for one thing – milk production. They are given hormones to increase production. Their calves are now a by-product of milk to be confined and sold as veal. Hogs are born into confinement and live out their short lives with little room to even turn around. Chickens destined to produce eggs are crammed into tiny cages stacked as much as eight high to more efficiently use available space. They have no room to stand up, let alone turn around and those on the bottom are covered in the feces from those above. And chickens raised for meat are crammed into large rooms with thousands of others.

All of this is the result of animals being raised by corporations rather than people. And as awful as these conditions seem, they’re actually pleasant when compared to their conveyor-style slaughter.

Our treatment of animals should be disturbing to any person with a half a heart and respect for the beings with which we share this planet. We may never all become vegetarians or vegans, but that doesn’t mean we have to treat animals as a commodity…an unfeeling slab of meat.

Native Americans and other indigenous cultures ate meat, but they treated the victims of their hunts with respect. We would be wise to do the same. Failure to do so should weigh heavily on our minds and souls. The simple act of reducing our intake of meat and dairy each week would have a large impact on the sustainability of our planet. It would improve our overall health. And if enough people purchased locally-grown, organic foods, it would have an impact on factory farms.

But don’t count on the food industry to improve conditions on its own. Very few corporations have a conscience.