Question for my DU friends in deep RED places. . .

[Docreed2003]

12. I similarly grew up in a southern state that has morphed from blue to deep red

I grew up on a tobacco farm in TN. My grandparents were staunch Roosevelt Democrats and extremely liberal given the time period they grew up in. As a teenager, I had witnessed the slowly creeping evangelical political movment in rural churches and watched as people who had good "common sense" became brain washed by their religious leaders and politicians. My hometown is just north of Nashville and, although I loved the area and the people dearly, I swore when I left after high school I would never come back. Until this year, I had kept that promise to myself for 20 yrs. I served time in the Navy after completing residency in General Surgery, and then moved to RI for several years. I adored my time in New England and miss that area and the more liberal/secular worldview and the culture melting pot it afforded for our family. Due to a series of events, we needed to move closer to family, my wife is from Louisiana. We were ultimately recruited by the hospital that I was born in and have settled back in the area that I swore I'd never live in. Although much is the same, the area is very different and has grown rapidly with the growth of the greater Nashville area. However, it's very...VERY red here. We're adjusting to the change, and I am very happy with my job and being able to serve the people here, especially those from the rural communities where I was raised. That being said, most of our social interactions are with either friends and family in Nashville who are like minded and active in the political/music scene or my very small group of lifelong friends who happen to live near by that also think similarly. We've learned through our kids activities that anything more than superficial interactions with other families is pretty futile for the most part. Ironically most people make it easier for you when either they immediately start throwing out RW BS in casual conversation or they ask "Where do you go to church?" Minutes after meeting them. We're very happy here, but our social activities outside our immediate family are much smaller than they ever were either in the military or in RI.