Yesterday I completed one year of my job assignment at this god-forsaken place called Fort Smith; survived successfully the 'real' american apprehensiveness for brown skin and outsourcing which are characteristic features of most 'red' states of southern USA. However all is not bad; learned a lot on the job about handling people and processes, met a few people over the year who are actually progessive thinkers inspite of owning gass guzzling trucks, swearing by Walmart and their love for country music and boots, came in touch with women from different strata of the society (read very poor to aristrocratic) working at casinoes, malls, offices, insurance agencies, hospitals, car dealerships, bars and no-where (many of them share the same bliss of being 'single' for similar reasons: lack of exposure to outside world or overdose of exposure leading to adultery or the inherent southern spirit of not being able to reason to simple compromises in life). All these people, experiences made me more attuned to the truth behind the veil of so called american way of life (in small cities) and appreciate more the values that matter.
The lives of people here at Fort Smith or for that matter any small city in mid south west is so different from the lives of people at NYC, Chicago, LA, Atlanta, Sanfransisco, Dallas, Seattle. Lack of economic opportunities, absence of quality education, delayed exposure to world economy, excessive adherence to easy life.....all slow down the growth of such cities where most young kids look up only to the US army or the Walmart for the next job. Its a pity that corporate America is not coming up with new ventures to get this young, bright minds into action. This reminds me that we Indians, inspite of being from a third world country with very limited resources have actually come a long way within 60 years of our independence, taking advantage of the globalization of the economy. I think the middle class value-based bringing up, the hunger for doing something more than just surviving the daily rigmarole, and openmindedness enabled us where we are today. And I believe that only a few young educated people from these small US cities, who have the guts to be different and ability to adapt to changing demands of the economy can brighten the name of their hometowns sometime in the future.
10 comments:
As a human being, I am insulted that you continue to attempt to group people into vast categories. It is time that you start to realize the beauty of each individual. Instead of saying that all mid-south-western people are the same, realize that everyone comes from a different situation. Some have to overcome issues such as a lack of money or education, others have to deal with a difficult parental situation and others may have to deal with peers judging them and making their lives difficult.
As a woman, I am insulted that you say many women are single because they are uneducated or inexperienced in the ways of the world. I think that many women might be single because they want to leave their current situation and make something better for themselves. This doesn't mean that they have to leave their location, but instead that they leave whatever issue might be holding them back.
I would appreciate it if you started to look at each person instead of always trying to group everyone into large categories. You might start to realize some really interesting trends.
I do agree with the anonymous comments that no one need to necessarily subsribe to my views. My suggesstion is not to take it personally; rather understand the overall scope of issues that affect such things from a neutral perspective.
YOU SUCK 3-
If you don't like it here, get the hell out! A positive person makes the best of a situation no matter where they are, or who they are around. To put everyone in the same category is ingnorant, thought you were a bit smarter than that. Guess I was wrong!!
Pls don't leave anonymous comments. I appreciate each person individually and my observations are not general; they are however true for many that I have seen.
WE ARE IN AMERICA AND IT'S A FREE COUNTRY, I'LL POST ANONYMOUSLY IF I WANT TO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I noticed you mentioned on your blog that Arkansas is a red state, and I guess it is, but I hate the whole red state, blue state thing, because when nearly half the country didn't vote for the current president (and nearly half of Arkansas didn't, either) it makes it look like only the Republicans are here. Most of the red states are really only red by a narrow margin. They should really be purple. I also can't stand the current administration, either, but that's another story.
If the anonymous poster doesn't like what you say, he/she doesn't have to read your blog, either.
How do we know what he's going to say unless we read it? He might have something interesting to say one of these days!
nicely said . i recommend you to keep your posts it politically correct . it may flame few folks . better to keep few thing to your self .
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