I Am A Hick From the Sticks and Proud of It

I have had a problem with people who are not from a rural community all of my life.

They seem to think that living in the country somehow dumbs you down. (As if living near lots of other people and buildings somehow makes your brain enlarge or something.) I had a "city" cousin growing up that made it known to me from early on that she was just a little better and smarter because of living in the city. Now I thought this was just a childish notion. And she truly has grown out of it. But there are plenty of adults who still carry this attitude. Somehow they feel they are just a little "better" than country folks. These same adults think they are more educated or at least better educated than country folks. Isn't this a classic example of "pride". Pride is not a good thing. Not when you feel better or superior to others.

What brought on this tirade? Well, there is a man in our community who is from the city. He wants to retire to the country. He is a few years away from retirement but he wanted to get a head start on the preparations. So, he has built a house in Hiko. He works and lives in the city all week and spends every weekend in Hiko. The other day he said that he has always been influenced by many to feel like the people in the country were going to be less educated and not so "on-the-ball" as the city folks. But he said that his experience has been quite different. He finds the people in our community quite the opposite. He says that many of them have more education and degrees that he does not have.

Now I truly understand if someone does not like the country life. Most people are not accustomed to it. They can't do without the entertainment they need or the shopping close by. We, however, enjoy living here and don't mind traveling a little distance to enjoy the same things. We love the environment where our children learn to work and keep super-busy in many activities, which in turn keeps them out of trouble. We understand that if everyone liked this way of life, then that very way of life would go away. But we don't understand the need for city folks to feel superior or better than us who do choose something that they don't enjoy.

Now, I have had my say. And I feel better. Thanks.