Vegan_Joe

Not that people shouldn’t be held accountable for their politics, but, as in everything, the issue is more complex than it seems that face value.

I was placed in the region through Teach for America a decade ago, right in the midst of the first Trump election. I initially took the political rhetoric at face value, assuming everyone was parroting the viewpoints of conservative talking heads.

While there is some truth to that, the actuality of any individual’s opinion is more nuanced than that.

The area has been historically marginalized and abused by corporate and political powers of all varieties. Coal severance money was misdirected, and many of the mine owners saw the writing on the wall, taking all available funds and abandoning the area.

As a consequence, the working class was left with few jobs outside of healthcare or education, with a consequent over-reliance on government assistance, leaving the populace with a feeling of hopelessness and abandonment.

The fall from prosperity happened with a similar, and related, flight to large cities. From the viewpoint of the marginalized, it seemed as if liberal policies favored Urban prosperity over rural.

Not that the issue can be whittled down to the urban and rural divide, but the overwhelming sense was that something drastic needed to change, and only one political party even acknowledged that sentiment.

The area has certainly been propagandized to, but most of the opinions are more moderate and practical than the election results would imply.

Like much of the country, it is very easy to find the vocal minority that treats the political scene like a sports match, with an almost religious devotion to “their team”. I just wish there was more condemnation of those people who address it that stupidly.

With it being such a rural area, the community relies on each other, and easily looks past any problematic opinions, in favor of meaningful human connection in action.

I too would like to know. I’m rocking a 2012 Scion with a Toyota engine with 300,000 miles on it…

2009’s “Black Dynamite” (I had to look it up)

The “Wear Sunscreen’ speech by Mary Schmich: “Ladies and gentlemen of the class of ’97:

Wear Sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they’ve faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future, or worry, but know that worry is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind. The kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts. Don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don’t waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long and, in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don’t be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They’re your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you’ll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you’ll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair or by the time you’re 40 it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.”

-Mary Schmich