I live in a pretty rural area. This is the view outside my front door a summer or so ago:
Not so liberal of a town/place. If you came and spent a few days with me you would be stunned. Folks in public will tell you Obama is a Muslim, from Kenya. He wants to take your guns away. IMHO stupid is everywhere. Logic or facts don't seem to matter. It can and is painful.
But then something strange can happen.
Bring up climate change and those same folks will start to sound like pot smoking hippie liberals.
Let me try to explain below the fold.
Where I live now is where I went to middle and high school. I was here cause well, there is a huge military base near by, where my father was stationed. The base sent their children to the local schools. So most students were military brats. Maybe like 7 to 1.
Calling somebody "farmer" was like a slur. I mean those were "fighting" words.
I mention the above cause when I moved back here after living 15+ years in DC I didn't have that much respect for a farmer.
I recall sitting in my front yard watching this guy harvest his field of winter wheat. The guy pulls his combine over and introduces himself. Invites me into it. Oh my god. The thing was about the most advance piece of technology I'd seen, and I work with technology. It was staggering the amount of info he gathered. I asked him what he cost and he said $295,000. I believe it!
He invited me to have a beer with him .....
He and his friends, well they said things like I started this diary with. Things that made me uncomfortable to say the least. I thought I had made a mistake.
But then I said something about the weather. Holly cow. These folks just went on a rant about climate change. I couldn't get a word in, and if you know me face to face, well that usually isn't a problem for me.
On and on they talked about climate change. Ranting.
I have come to think that a PhD that studies this topic 24/7 is somebody I will listen to. But folks that work the land, you know dirt under their finger nails, well we might listen to them as well.
And this is back to my point of why can't we all get along? Look we might disagree on many issues, but can't we find common ground on one thing? Climate change and work there?
BTW: I messed up. Their rants was they think climate change is a reality and they are pissed off. Really pissed off. I can't believe, and I didn't, make this more clear.