Thanksgiving in Southern Indiana.

[tekisui]

I spent Thanksgiving at my mom's place in Southern Indiana. It was the first time I had visited there since she moved. I have spent most of my time on the coasts or in cities.

As I read the local paper each morning, I found myself wanting to rip it to shreds. I was appalled at the volume of pro-chimpy news. It almost made me sick(along with the apparent lack of an editor). Every National or International story had a neo-con spin; the political cartoons ridiculed global warming, praised chimpy for conservation(?), and took jabs at the Democratic Candidates for President. I couldn't find a source of truth on any of the newsstands or local television.

The small town was awash in jingoism and star-spangled paint. The only employer, essentially, was the former G.E. plant. It is now owned and operated by a Saudi company with an Arabic logo where G.E. used to be. They depend on the Saudi company. The town would die if the Saudis didn't find profit there.

I wondered if the average worker knows that their employer promotes and defends the practice of punishing a rape victim with physical abuse and prison. I wondered if the average worker knows what is being done in their name while they wave the flag in pride. I wondered if the man selling 911 posters and dollar bills with dubya's face as commander in chief had ever heard an honest criticism of his dear leader.

On this Thanksgiving I am thankful that I have access to information. It is disheartening that the truth is so actively
suppressed, and filtered through Nationalistic propaganda. So many hard working families don't have a chance. They work 12 hour swing shifts, come home to a hot meal and read the filtered paper tossed to their porch. And they have been doing this for years. Many don't even know that they don't know.

To anyone reading this from small town censored America, good on you for seeking out alternatives, and let's try to get to the others.

[brentspeak]

1. Thanks for that. Good post.

It's too bad that your mom's town is still stuck in 2002.

[Gonzo Gardener]

2. You were here and you didn't stop by?!

You are correct in your observations of my fellow Hoosiers and our local news.

I've been attempting to "get to the others" for the six years I've been living here. It is a very slow process and at times completely maddening. I come here to recharge and occasionally vent.

:hi:

[snappyturtle]

3. Your OP has struck me twice! Recently, a month ago, I visited

northwestern IN, Lake County, and found more of what you did in southern IN. In talking to people there I realized that they don't have a clue as to what's happening in this country. Star spangled paint over the rose colored glasses is the modus operandi. I can imagine that southern IN is even worse. It's pathetic that there is no news in areas of our country which leads to my second point.

For several years my husband and I made many trips between TX and MN. As we listened to the radio while traveling we found many areas where there was no news on at all! Didn't take us long to buy a Sirius radio for our trips!

When trying to engage conversation about the state of affairs of our country in relation to such subjects as the Military Commissions Act, for instance, I was looked at as a conspiracy theorist!
Nobody believed anything coming out of my mouth because they had no knowledge of the subject. None.

(I am a native of IN and graduated from IU Bloomington just in case anyone out there thinks I'm being too hard on the state.)

[DCKit]

4. I always wondered where the "base" was. Thanks for clearing that up. nt

[tekisui]

5. My thought around the town was, "These are the 28 percenters."

[havocmom]

8. Lots of victims of Media Consolidation too.

My granddad, his dad, his granddad were all involved in newspaper publishing. They KNEW the American experiment would only flourish with the magnifying glass of an independent and vital free press.

They must be spinning in their graves.

[Toots]

6. Sometimes it only takes one to start the ball rolling

Did you write to any editors or papers to set the records straight? How do they know any different if no one tells them?

[cali]

7. you realize that not all small towns are like that, right?

I live in small town America, and though it looks pretty Norman Rockwell around here, it's about as liberal as it gets, and that includes, to a large degree, the information we get from local sources.

[tekisui]

9. Oh, I know that they are not all like that.

But, I also know that my mom's town is not alone.

[Brigid]

10. I'm a Hoosier too.

Sometimes it's downright embarrassing. My town is a grubby, aging industrial berg of about 60,000 on the Wabash River whose best days are long behind her. Efforts are being made to correct the decades of stagnation, but only so much can really be done if people do not even try an effort to open their minds and inform themselves. Most of the people here are decent, unpretentious, hardworking, church-going folk; but somehow the dull-eyed, slack-jawed morons among them seem to dominate. The local paper isn't too bad -- it does try to print editorials from a wide variety of poionts of view -- but that isn't enough. You have to be able to think, and that isn't the most popular pastime around here. Got a college degree? You're an alien being around these parts.

Part of it, I guess, is the lousy economy. Kind of hard to get people to worry about politics when they're worried about more pressing concerns like getting laid off or fearing that their kids will get sick when they don't have health insurance. I work in a local plant that makes packages DVDs, and it's a veritable laboratory for sociological studies. Many of my co-workers long ago let their dreams die -- if they ever had any in the first place. Non working hours are spent in the local corner bar, for there isn't much else to look forward to around here. The smarter ones take comfort in considering themselves better than everybody else and sneering at everybody and everything. Believe me, if you're in this town, you're not nearly as smart as you think you are (and yes, I include myself).

I often wonder what would happen if the working people in this town -- and all over the country, for that matter -- just got sick and tired of struggling all the time. Maybe some day we'll find out.