The word "redneck" often elicits a familiar stereotype: Poor, out of touch, rural people with backwards views, poor hygiene, and low class. Often we associate "rednecks" with people living in the South. They are working class, blue collar, and poorly educated. They were the people who twenty years ago wanted their kids to be on Star Search and grow up to be in NASCAR or American Gladiators, rather than be doctors or lawyers. They drove big trucks, carried shotguns, and shopped at flea markets and Walmart Superstores. They voted Republican no matter how much it violated their economic interests.
However, this term needs to be updated, and this stereotype has to be rethought.
The stereotypical "redneck" is a dying breed. These people can no longer afford to put fuel in their truck. They lost their job, when it was shipped overseas. What used to be their hometown is now full of boarded up shops, and foreclosure signs. They may still vote Republican, but some are starting to return to the Democrats, like the three Democrats in Indiana whose victories in the 2006 mid-term elections shifted Indiana’s Congressional delegation from 7 Republicans and 2 Democrats to 5 Democrats and 4 Republicans.
The redneck of today is much different from that old stereotype. They appear educated and well-to-do. They have good jobs, and good salaries. They live in large towns and cities. Some of them are our co-workers, our neighbors, and even our friends.
I hadn’t noticed this trend until I moved from Arlington, Virginia to Reno, Nevada in January 2007 to work on geothermal and solar power projects in the Western U.S. Reno is a small city east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains near the California border where many Middle Class Rednecks reside.
Don’t get me wrong. Reno isn’t the only place where this is going on. It is happening across the country. Seemingly educated people still drive Hummers. They still take their children to fast food restaurants twice a week. They come home and crank the air conditioning in the summer, or the heater in the winter. They buy a cell phone for their 10 year old, who spends all her time sending text messages to her friends. They watch American Idol every night, and read People Magazine and US Weekly. They call this a "dirty pleasure", but in reality it’s their primary source of entertainment and information. They rarely watch the news or read the newspaper, yet they have opinions on issues without knowing a thing. These are the people who thought Austin Powers in Goldmember was a comedic achievement.
Some of them consider themselves "undecided" or "Independent" voters, but they voted for Bush in 2004 because they were afraid the Democrats were "too weak" on terrorists. Now they think the country is on the wrong track, but aren’t sure why.
They never point the finger at themselves. Yet, every aspect of their lives is contributing to the downfall of the American way of life.
They are the ones failing to prepare their children to be educated. Little Johnny is pampered and told he is special until he is 25 and wonders why he can’t keep his job.
They are the ones buying more and more useless electronic goods, using more and more electricity, and then complain when their electric bill goes up.
They are the ones who eat poor diets and feed their kids processed foods, and wonder why they are too tired to exercise at the end of the day, and why their kids gain weight.
They are the ones who are offended by Barack Obama’s statement that people are bitter and hang on to guns and religion; and then decide they need to start going to church and to purchase a handgun for the home.
They are the ones who decide to take their kids to Six Flags on vacation rather than taking them camping in beautiful parks and recreation areas. Their kids sit in the backseat watching a DVD on the way to the park. They no longer talk to their kids, which is why their kids have no vocabulary.
They are the ones who were traumatized by 9-11, not just because of the awfulness of that day, but because they really didn’t see it coming. They have no idea where Afghanistan is, and still don’t know that most of the hijackers were Saudis. They think all Muslims are the same, and that is why they believe leaving Iraq is surrendering to terrorists.
In simple terms, these people don’t educate their kids and aren’t informed about what is going on in the world. They waste gasoline and electricity. They vote out of fear and concern over change. They rail against intellectual critique of American policies, because they believe America is still the "Greatest Country on Earth".
They don’t understand that there are young people in China and India reading and learning and doing whatever they can to succeed. They still think their child is smarter and more talented than those children, by default. But, they are wrong. Our actions have consequences. Our consumption and the way we spend our time on this earth will affect the way our children spend their time on this earth. Dumbed-down entertainment and new useless gadgets have caused people who should know better to become ignorant rednecks, because they can’t adapt to a changing world.
Soon, however, these people will start losing their jobs and their homes. They will start waking up to the fact that their kids are struggling in school, and aren’t prepared for the job market.
So, what is the point of this rant and rave?
Well, we have to recognize this trend. There are has always been ignorance in our society that caused people to make bad choices. However, the stakes have never been higher. Over the last 8 years, our leaders have scoffed at rising health care costs, record job losses, rising energy prices, the growing threat of climate change, and soaring debt. Our leaders provide us with the same arguments to these types of issues that they used during the economic downturns of the 1970s. They claim that lawsuits are the sole reason for the rise in health care costs. They blame illegal immigrants for our job losses. They claim our environmental laws are causing record energy prices. They claim climate change is at least uncertain, and more likely an international plot to tax the American economy. They claim debt is a natural state of economics and ensure us that it won’t have long-term affects on our bank accounts. Despite the flawed logic of these arguments, this new breed of rednecks keep buying it, keep voting on it, and living in self-denial.
They either don’t understand, or won’t admit to themselves that we live in a different world. That America no longer has an embarrassment of riches. Worldwide energy and food prices are skyrocketing to meet the needs of nearly 7 billion people, and we are now a major importer of these goods. The internet has strengthened communication and empowered people in the developing world to compete for our jobs. Global competition forces people throughout the world to educate and innovate or be starved and subjugated. We were once immune from this competition, but not anymore. The message hasn’t gotten to many Americans that we are no longer in control of the global marketplace. We can’t be fat and happy any longer. We have to compete and innovate or be starved and subjugated. We can’t be a nation of rednecks.