Strong families with strong faith
2003-Feb-10, Monday 09:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ssurgulWhile watching channel 12's (KPTV) news out of Portland, I was finally able to organize thoughts about what is so very different up here versus down in CA, where I left just a couple of months ago.
One of the Challenger kids was being interviewed. That, for those who like myself hadn't heard of it prior to tonight, is used to refer to those people who are children of one of the Challenger astronauts from 17 years ago. She was saying that she attended the Columbia memorial services and met one of the kids of some of the Columbia astronauts. Yadayadayada, she ended by saying the latest kids were part of strong families with strong faith.
Strong faith.
Ever since moving up here, I have been slightly uncomfortable with the mass media. I'm not terribly comfortable with it normally, but it's been even worse lately. And that's precisely why. This is a rather conservative area/community. And, I was warned of this from various folk. There are a number of rednecks to be found here, on any street, in any neighborhood. Rednecks thrive in conservatism. Conservatism thrives on rules and regulations, and some profiling and other delights like that. Religion thrives on the same thing. What does all this mean to me? A more structured society.
That is quite a difference from CA, the land of extreme liberties/freedoms for everyone, even those that have no legal or legitimate business living in the Country or State. Where anyone is entitled to everything from the State, and from the public at large, regardless of their hygeine or even ability to communicate in the standard language of the country. (I know there is not a National language set at this time, but it really would make things a LOT easier and cheaper if there were.) Up here, though, it's vastly different. Walk into somewhere like Taco Bell, and the counter help, even if they look decidedly hispanic, actually speak perfectly clear English/American. They can take a simple order; they're very polite; they actually seem to want to assist you. I guess there are a very few shining points in family values after all.
One of the Challenger kids was being interviewed. That, for those who like myself hadn't heard of it prior to tonight, is used to refer to those people who are children of one of the Challenger astronauts from 17 years ago. She was saying that she attended the Columbia memorial services and met one of the kids of some of the Columbia astronauts. Yadayadayada, she ended by saying the latest kids were part of strong families with strong faith.
Strong faith.
Ever since moving up here, I have been slightly uncomfortable with the mass media. I'm not terribly comfortable with it normally, but it's been even worse lately. And that's precisely why. This is a rather conservative area/community. And, I was warned of this from various folk. There are a number of rednecks to be found here, on any street, in any neighborhood. Rednecks thrive in conservatism. Conservatism thrives on rules and regulations, and some profiling and other delights like that. Religion thrives on the same thing. What does all this mean to me? A more structured society.
That is quite a difference from CA, the land of extreme liberties/freedoms for everyone, even those that have no legal or legitimate business living in the Country or State. Where anyone is entitled to everything from the State, and from the public at large, regardless of their hygeine or even ability to communicate in the standard language of the country. (I know there is not a National language set at this time, but it really would make things a LOT easier and cheaper if there were.) Up here, though, it's vastly different. Walk into somewhere like Taco Bell, and the counter help, even if they look decidedly hispanic, actually speak perfectly clear English/American. They can take a simple order; they're very polite; they actually seem to want to assist you. I guess there are a very few shining points in family values after all.
