As far
as the "rural" vs. "urban" thing (You're absolutely
right about the lack of attention to rural concerns), I've
always lamented "city people" and "country people"
stereotyping each other and not trying to find common ground
(like issues of concern to the elderly [as you mentioned] -- we're all going to grow old, if we're lucky).
Dad's been ill this summer, and now into fall.
He's gotten better and hopefully after the current round of
med's and a recent procedure, he'll be in pretty decent
shape (Poor old guy wore out his body taking care of Mom and me
all those years). I've spent countless hours with him, at
home, in the hospital, and in a nursing home. It's been a "liberal education". One of the biggest problems (in
addition to the obscene expenses involved, even with Medicare)
seems to be a shortage of help -- the nursing home he was in is
owned by a company that owns 500, and they cut corners. Most of
the nurses and their assistants were competent and hard-working,
but they can do only so much. I just break down thinking of
those who have no where else to turn.
I went to UC, Davis, Dad & Mom grew up on
farms in South Dakota, we try to keep in touch with the
relatives in the Midwest, he's got a subscription to Wallace's
Farmer, and we occasionally watch RFD-TV, so we've got
some idea of what's going on in rural America. A lot of the
younger people go off to the towns to work, leaving an aging
population back home. Corporations and other large interests are
buying up a lot of the land, and communities are dying (WalMarts
sucking up business from main streets, too). Farm incomes are
often not enough to support a family, so couples go into town
for second jobs. Aquifers are going down or being polluted.
Prices for fuel, seed, fertilizer, etc. always seem to go up;
prices for products are always at the mercy of speculators (as
my Grandpa Drenkow used to say).
And yet, the countryside is such a beautiful
place to live, to raise a family if you can. Especially if your
family has roots on the land going back generations, but
really...for anyone.
The "conservative" values so traditional in
rural areas often put off liberal urban Democrats; but
underneath it all are genuine concern for family and neighbors,
the land, God, country, and justice -- all "issues" that
the Democratic Party used to draw much strength from in rural
regions (Dad could never figure how the South, for example,
could turn on the Democratic Party, after all FDR did for them,
as with the REA. Unfortunately, the GOP played "the race
card"; and the Vietnam War really did a number on not only the
Party but also the Country).
I've always thought it was a mistake for the
Democrats to write off rural states across the nation (and not
just because of Electoral College arithmetic), and it also is a
mistake for us to neglect rural counties across California.
Davis and Clinton both got into office with significant, albeit
not majority, support in rural areas of California. Hopefully it
won't take pressing economic times to get people to see that
the Democrats, not the Republicans, offer the most for "the
common people", whether they live in the city, the country, or
somewhere in between.
Well, I'd best check my (suburban) garden to
see if the carrots and peas sprouted yet (the first planting was
iffy, although the crucifers and onions are thriving in this
cool weather). Gotta put my UC, Davis education to work, you
know!