Living on the left coast can feel like living in a bubble. So says one former California woman who had to move to the state of Indiana when her husband received a good job opportunity at a university in Terre Haute.
While experiencing trepidation over the move, freelance writer Leah Singer explained that the life-changing move opened her eyes.
“I moved from the blue, liberal left coast bubble to a rural, a Midwest, Rust Belt red state,” she wrote.
Singer admits that people in the Golden State bubble like to think they’re doing good, that their plane of thought is above that of their “flyover” brethren, but reality tells a different story.
“I was raised in California, where we like to believe diversity is applauded and opportunities abound,” she said. “In many ways, California’s blue state bubble can be a very safe place to live if you subscribe to the popular liberal politics.”
Diversity in politics, particularly conservatism, is frowned upon.
Guess what happened when she got out of that liberal bubble …
What This Woman Learned Moving From a Blue State to a Red State
As I got to know my new Midwest home, I realize how living in a bubble and subscribing to the Middle America stereotypes is truly damaging to this country.
I used to say I’d never move to a red state.
And then I did.
And it’s changed my life for the better.
The author of the column explained that her California friends all made the same assumptions about Indianans through their questions:
“Did everyone you know vote for Donald Trump?” “Are there African-American, Jewish, Asian, LGBTQ people in Indiana?” “Do people make fun of you for listening to National Public Radio?”
Singer explains that while racial diversity isn’t s as prominent in her new home, activism toward racial equality is.
“Very few people know the Lost Creek community in Terre Haute was a stop on the Underground Railroad that helped escaped slaves enter the free state of Indiana before the Civil War,” she points out. “The diversity may not be as evident, but the city has a history of activism.”
Stereotypes therefore, should not be cast upon red state residents the way liberals in California may sometimes be guilty of doing.
Singer goes on to implore blue state liberals to reach out to others living in pro-Trump states.
“We ask politicians to reach across the aisle and work with their constituents,” she inquires, “but are we doing the same and reaching out to our neighbors?”
What do you think? Do liberals reach out to conservatives and try to understand their opinions on things? Or do they simply consider them ‘deplorables?’ Share your thoughts below!
