Discover Top Posts Tagged with #midwestnice

Midwest doodle. #opesorry #wisconsin #midwestnice #wisconsindoodle https://www.instagram.com/p/B9R2wU3h0Ms/?igshid=c854s7pv9s3i

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I love Colorado, I do, but I feel like my community isn’t gonna raise a barn for me, ya know?

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The paradox of Midwest nice politics

My local community is in the middle of signs-in-your-front-yard politics. Why in June? Because no one other than the republican primary nominee has a chance in this small town. Not only do I live in a small town, I live in a historically homogenous heritage town where everyone who is anyone is related or knows who each other is related to. But we are growing. Housing can't be put up fast enough around this agricultural center in the midst of cornfields. Also, we are slowly culturally diversifying. That is great for business, but can cause identity issues. Lately, as our community has grown, issues which previously could be dealt with in closed sessions where the power brokers did the dealing (usually benevolently - since everyone is related, everyone cares) are now drawing more heat - because not everyone knows everyone anymore. People who can't recite how they are related also have a stake in the community. They want to be part of the solutions, leadership and direction of our small community, but don't always know how to break in. When over time people become disenfranchised with the process, they start going to greater and greater lengths to combat it. That is why, in any protest, if you bring it back to it's core, you will find hurt and helplessness. Instead of dismissing it, we need to look at ourselves. What role have we played? How have we not listened? And beyond listening, how have we not encouraged other views as valid? I have been on both sides of this. I was instrumental (along with some amazing people!) in stopping (at least temporarily) the expansion of a highway which would have rendered my house unsafe. We did this by getting people who agreed with us emotionally invested. How did we do that? We pointed out in emotional terms the impact, we used strong data to undermine the city's claims (they were not trying to be underhanded - but they had an insulated view of the issues and didn't really view any other side than what they wanted for community growth). We were not shy about using unflattering language to make our point. There was backlash to this. People who I view as friends of mine were not happy with our tactics - I got the "this is not how we do things here" speech. Now, I am on the other side of this. I back a candidate for state house who is running the traditional, knock on your door Midwest nice campaign. But an "outsider" has come in and has interjected negativity into the campaign. Including an organized PAC whose focus is to take down the candidate I support. I am not offended by this, though now I am on the same side as the people who are offended by this - and previously were offended by me. Politics is a game of emotions. It is a game with increasingly more at stake, and there are many different ways to play it. Very few people come out to vote because of rational, logical reasons (even though I would flatter myself that I care, there have been plenty of times where I have gone to vote and haven't heard of either candidate). They either do it because they are your friend (the local popularity politics) or because they are emotionally invested in your cause. The strongest emotion is anger. It is a lot easier to get elected on a negative campaign. You get your base riled, they show up. As my small community grows, they will have to come to grips with the dynamics of diversity. Unless they intentionally diversify and create a culture of inclusion and togetherness to allow the Midwest nice style of politics to continue - where decisions don't come across to outsiders as being made behind closed doors, they will increasingly find the opposition resorting to the types of campaigns which offend their Midwest sensibilities. You will notice I used "they" not "we". I didn't grow up here, don't have any of those names which gives me an automatic leg up. Though I am working hard to get rid of the chip on the shoulder this can cause, I am not always successful. I even have some of this heritage, yet I don't have a shared history with these people. I don't know who so and so had as a Sunday school teacher growing up. Which of my friends is cousins with someone I just met. I am not opposed to people who know each other and have a shared history voting for each other - I get it. But with that decision they have to recognize that they are opening themselves up to the types of disenfranchised attacks which they currently have a difficult time handling. It can't be both ways. My community is in a growth identity crisis. I love this community, and want it to be unified. But I want it to understand the interrelatedness of it's interactions so it can grow with grace and understanding. The funny thing is, the takedown campaign actually did the opposite for me. Without that takedown campaign I would probably know nothing about the issues. I probably would not be voting. Maybe at the end of the day, it really is about the issues. We just need some prodding to care. Especially as our lives are ever busier.

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