'Where Is Obama's Small Town America?'
By Thomas D. Segel (04/15/08)
Harlingen, Texas, April 14, 2008: I really don't know where a person would find Barak Obama's "Small Town America". I know that I have not viewed that kind of world from my own vantage point...and I have lived in this so-called "Small Town America" for the past 35 years.
In political remarks that are burning up the Internet, leading the dialog of talk shows and firing up political pundits everywhere, the topic is Obama, speaking in San Francisco. He said, “You go to some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration and the Bush administration and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”
Well, I don’t think small-town Pennsylvania is too much different from small-town Exeter, California or small-town Cowiche, Washington or my small-town of Harlingen, Texas. All small towns are relatively the same. First of all, you know your neighbors. You know the town’s strengths and its weaknesses. You know the leaders and the followers. There is teamwork to assure survival. There are helping hands for those in need.
Yes, there are guns in most small towns. People in many small towns like to hunt. There are also fishing poles, because the people also like to fish. Most of all, they love the Constitution…and the Second Ammendment.
Small town America has an abundance of churches and the pews are filled on Sunday mornings. But, this never happens out of bitterness but because of the love of God.
People in small town America have antipathy for people who aren’t like them? I think not. You will find more human kindness, caring hearts and real compassion in small towns than you will ever discover inside those concrete jungles such as Washington D.C.
Security concerns for the nation cannot be shrugged off as anti-immigrant sentiment and the only place you hear anti-trade sentiment is out of the mouths of politicians.
Jobs come and jobs go in America. When I moved to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas the main work force was agriculture oriented. Those not involved with farming were in the textile and clothing-manufacturing field. The region had a historic 12% to 17% unemployment rate.
Well, that was 35 years ago…and guess what!!!!! Most of those jobs are gone. The agriculture business is now half of it’s former self. All of the textile and clothing plants have closed.
Did small town Rio Grande Valley, Texas become bitter? I think not. In fact, today, most of our Valley small towns have grown. Tourism, call centers, service industries, discount shopping malls and construction have replaced the lost jobs…and our unemployment hovers in the area of 5%. All of this happened because small town folks worked together and not because of Big Brother Washington.
And what about our supposed antipathy for those who are not like us ? What about that charge of anti-immigrant sentiment? We didn’t find much help coming from Washington politicos to correct those “so-called” problems. In Harlingen religion stepped forward to meet a need. The Ministerial Allience joined as one and created a human service organization called Loaves and Fishes. What started out as a soup kitchen has grown into a one square block facility that, each day, feeds hundreds of homeless and needy people, who come primarily from other locales. It provides shelter for those needing a place to rest. It has family emergency assistance, a crisis center, job training, helps obtain medical care, clothing for the needy and provides offices for a variety of government service organizations. Do you really think this happened out of bitterness?
We know times are tough for many people. That was understood when we created our Valley-wide food bank. Tons and tons of food are provided by companies, churches and through individual donations. These are distributed to any and all who suffer from hunger.
These are local, antidotal examples of small town America, but they exist in similar forms across the United States. This is not the view of the country seen by Obama. It is the view as seen by other people who live in small towns everywhere.
Small town people are different from those who dwell in large cities. They are more self-reliant. They do not keep their hands out to Washington pleading for our government to supply their daily bread.
Sure, small town America struggles. But, across the country these rural communities still manage to endure. They don’t do it looking to politicians such as elitist socialists like Barack Obama. They know who the leaders are in their communities…and they know the followers. They prosper through self-determination, expanding their vision, and thinking beyond their boundaries. They plant new ideas and nurture them. Most of all they think young seek new ideas and involve the entire community in civic action. Often they take risks, and if they fail, try again. Most of all they share in the town’s ownership, not in bitterness, but with pride.
Semper Fidelis
Tom Segel
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