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Regionalism in America

03/23/01 - 03/24/01

I rent a car (a brand new Sebring convertible with less than a 1000 miles on her) put the top down and head East from the Seattle waterfront. We drive through Redmond where we visit the sprawling campus of Microsoft. We then cruise through the majestic Cascade Mountains and over to Eastern Washington. We go off the Interstate and drive through the picturesque Yakima River Valley along Route 821. We park the car and go for a vigorous hike along some railroad tracks that run along the river. We arrive in Selah and meet a distant relative of my friend who takes us to the Apple Orchard where my friend's father was born and her grandfather grew up. After touring some of the beautiful Washington apple country, we drive though Yakima and then back to Seattle, witnessing an incredible sunset over the mountains. Today, we venture back to Pike Place Market, hit some shops in Pioneer Square and make it over to St. James Cathedral where we go to Confession and then Mass. As we leave the Church, the Seattle sky opens up for the first time during our visit.

Reflection:

The new economy flourishes in open, creative settings. Microsoft's corporate headquarters intrigued me. There, on well manicured lawns outside low-rise buildings, computer geeks (most of them probably millionaires) played frisbee and looked happy and relaxed. Creativity flourishes in such settings. The information technology revolution has left the old ways of communicating and storing information in the past as much as the old rules of corporate culture and office buildings. Let people move and think freely and great rewards will follow.

What is the great divide in American political life? Is it race, income or religion? All matter, but geography might trump them all. Talking to people during my trip here has made one fact very obvious: culturally and politically Washington is two separate states; one West of the Cascades that is liberal and new economy, one East of the Cascades that is conservative and agrarian. The great divide in American political life seems to be between rural (more conservative) and urban (more liberal). This is as true in Washington as it is in Virginia, New York or Minnesota. Why? Urban areas have much greater concentrations of people and much greater diversity of cultures. So many different people living so close together creates a natural tolerance of diverse people and lifestyles. Urban areas also have jobs that primarily involve technology and knowledge based disciplines. University communities and college-educated people are more skeptical of absolutes and authority and tend to view moral absolutes and certainty of God and religion with more skepticism. One side effect of this, is a libertine culture that leads to crime, large rates of illegitimate children and moral relativism. Rural areas, by contrast, are more spread out and linked to the earth and her cycles. People know their neighbors because their neighbors are far fewer and newcomers are met with kindness, but with some suspicion. Life and the economy is often tied to the earth, man's destiny is in the hand of something greater than his own power. Rural folk view guns as tools, not as potentially harmful weapons. The farmer outside Yakima and the software engineer in Redmond view the world very differently: one creates with the knowledge of man, the other creates with the help of God.

The fact is, America is great because of both urban and rural areas. An increased regionalism (not based on North and South but rather urban and rural) as was seen in the last election is bad for the nation. America's cultural wars are increasingly being fought not between North and South, rich and poor or black and white but rather between urban and rural. Guns, abortion, school prayer, gay rights, you name it. Balkanization, based upon geography, is bad for America. We should remember what unites us as Americans not what divides us. I don't claim to have the answers, but I am becoming more aware of the proper questions that shape American political debate. This project is about finding those questions and examining them, not necessarily answering them all.

Congressional Districts:

Congressional Districts: Washington #1, 8, 4 (299 Left to Visit)

03/12/02

I arise very early, record my reflections, pack up and bust out of Raleigh. I take the country roads through Carolina, very impressed by the still open beauty of the rural south. The Carolina pines are very pretty, the air is light and the homes I see, while not extravagant have large lawns and space (often with tires and cars on them). This is really my first extended trip throughout the rural south and I have to admit I like it very much. Along the road I stop at a couple BBQ places for some home-cooking and sweet tea. One thing that impresses the visitor to the rural south is the cheap prices. Three and a half bucks doesn't buy you much in Minneapolis, and nothing out East. Here, three to four bucks gets you a darn good meal. I have come to hate fast food. Give me some real cooking! All the ladies down here are real sweet also. Black, white…brother, I like em all. It took me a while to realize that when they call me "Darling" "Sweetie" "Honey" and other sweet nothings, that is exactly what they are, and that it is not because they are entranced by my ways but rather because that is what they call everyone!

In Columbia, South Carolina I stopped at a strip mall outside of town. I looked at a map to find the best way to get to the state capitol. Instead of going to the state capitol or to historic churches and reading historical markers I went to a pawn shop next to an adult bookstore. Churches and Capitols, symbols of our nation's faith and fifty states. Oh, I have seen my share. But, I want to see all of America--all of her, not just her good parts. Pawn shops and porn shops are just as common as those capitols and churches. I remember what Grandpa Pence told me a while back when I talked to him about my journey. Besides repeating his notion that my whole project was "stupid" he asked if I had seen any of the "seedy parts of town." I replied, "Yes." He smiled, and said, "Good." Grandpa Pence never hesitated to indulge his desires, and many Americans don't. We like our Puritan image, but every major town I have seen has strip clubs and porn shops. You don't get a country of 270 million people by being a bunch of Puritans.

After Columbia and South Carolina, I marched on through rural Georgia, running into rain. Later that evening, quite exhausted, I arrived at Fort Benning, Georgia where I met up with a guy I knew from Georgetown, Robert Swope, who is an officer here. After buying me some grub (I ask all hosts on Raising Cain to cover my food) I got a few hours sleep on his hard floor. Damn, I have certainly spent the night at some interesting places!

Reflection:

The South certainly has a distinct culture. Sweet tea, sweeter women and natural beauty. Yet, there is a certain sorrow to the land as well. The South lost so much during the Civil War, so many young sons and an entire way of life. Slavery was an evil that had to end, yet not all of antebellum southern culture was evil or worth ending. Ah, America! I seek your heart, want your soul, desire your spirit. But you never cease to amaze or surprise me. You want to see and understand the south? Visit churches and confederate memorials--nearly every single small tow has them! But look at some guns and flirt with some girls as well. Churches and confederates, guns and girls. Welcome to Dixie, Yankee!

Americans identify not only with a state and national community, but with regional identity as well. We are Southerners and Westerners, New Englanders and Midwesterners. Texas and California are so damn big they have their own identity. This is key to understanding America: local, state, regional and national identity all conflict and cooperate to make our nation what it is.

Last night, rumbling towards Fort Benning on a dark, rainy road with trucks blasting by was a little scary. I drive so much--5,500 miles since this trip started. I worry about getting killed sometimes, especially on those winding country roads late at night. There is definite risk involved in this project--and definite reward. The two always go together. It is not uncommon for me to drive 700,800, 900 miles in one day then rest a couple hours in an uncomfortable place and do it all over again. That can be very, very dangerous. Why do I love my mission? Because I wake up hungry and go to bed exhausted. Despite numerous obstacles and little money what makes me march on? The certainty that this is my calling and this my noblest work. My mission might kill me, and could very well bankrupt me--but so be it! Bury me with a crucifix, because I'm a sinner and a Rand McNally Road Atlas--because the American highway is my great love.

Congressional Districts:

Congressional Districts: NC # 8, SC #2, GA #1, 10, 8, 2, 3 (184 Left to Visit)