Appalachia is Rich Where it Truly Counts
It was bound to happen.
It's been stewing for two or three days now. I expected it... really... and sure 'nuff, this morning it happened.
I woke up on my soapbox
.My sister called me a few nights ago and told me to turn my tv to a program by Diane Sawyer being aired on ABC. Seems they were doing a documentary on Appalachian children... poor little snot nosed things.
My sister was obviously offended and it only took me a few minutes to be right there with her. Where in the world did they find so many kids with dirty faces? They must have searched and searched. Or maybe they just set up their cameras wherever they heard the joyful squeals of children swinging on vines and rolling down the hills of Appalachia. That would make a child pretty dirty. But I'll bet they really had to work to get those happy expressions off of their faces
.The documentary pulled out all the old stereotypes. Not much originality there. They simply perpetuated the myth that all the folks in Appalachia are dirt poor, uneducated, incestuous, drug-addicted losers.
Oh! I take that back. They did come up with one I'd never heard before. It seems that Appalachian folks have such bad teeth (oh really?) because they drink too much... get this... Mountain Dew! Truly! They really said that! ROFL
! If t'weren't fer us ig-nert mountain folk, Mountain Dew might go plum out of bizness!What really irritates me, I guess, is not the ignorance, but the sheer arrogance of those city folk who come in and tell us how miserable we are... or should be. They tell us that we're poor so we must be unhappy. They tell us our standard of living is substandard, whatever that means. They are the ones who really know how to live and thank the good Lord, they're here to show us how. PUH-LEESE.
What those folks fail to understand is that Appalachia is rich... truly, truly wealthy. Maybe not in the world's estimate, but when it comes to the true riches... baby, we've got 'em. Close families, strong faith, happy kids with the mountain playground in their backyard.... what could be better?
Ms. Sawyer showed us a scene of a few women sitting out on a porch swing with a few kids. The porch was piled up with old junk, none of the women had on makeup or fancy clothes, and of course, the kids were dirty. But they were singing an old hymn, and it was the sweetest sound. I'd choose to be there ANYDAY over a stuffy old formal living room with Ms. Sawyer and her cronies. The mountain scenery is just beautiful and nothing can match its peacefulness, not even Ms. Sawyer's well-manicured lawn & gardens.
And Ms. Sawyer really showed her ignorance when she commented on the words to the hymn... I am dreaming of a mansion... She seemed to believe the women were dreaming of moving from the mountains to a mansion here on earth. What boloney!
(Psst... Diane, dear, they were singing about Heaven, not a place here on earth. What they have here on earth is already as close to Heaven as it gets.)
What I don't understand is what is wrong with Ms. Sawyer herself, since I am told she's from the mountains. Like Ms. Sawyer, I am from the mountains, and like her again, I moved away several years ago. The difference is that my heart is still in the mountains. I still identify myself as "mountain folk". How could one grow up in such a beautiful environment and not long to return?
Giving her the benefit of the doubt, I think she really was trying to help. Appalachian folks will mostly not deny that there is a drug problem, and money (or the lack thereof) is a problem for many. I just wish she'd open her eyes to the true wealth of the area in which she spent her childhood years. Until she does, I really feel sorry for her. SHE is living in poverty.
Maybe we should take up a collection for her
. Handmaiden's Joy - Biblical Womanhood
...be it unto me according to Thy word...
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