Inaccurate and simplistic depictions of rural America are damaging

About a month ago, I wrote a letter to the editor of The Washington Post, in which I criticized a piece that they chose to publish. In that piece, the author argued that our culture unduly defines rural America as "America." In making her argument, she relied on a few, quite bizarre, troupes. As I outline in my piece, she diminishes the concerns of marginalized groups in rural spaces by noting that rural America is "less racially diverse" and that issues such as gun violence, clean water and air, and infrastructure are uniquely "urban concerns."  She also scapegoats rural America for the rightward shift in the political discourse by noting that politicians can simply call Rural America, "Real America," and ignore the country's problems.  In her article, she is attempting to paint Rural America as a politically, socially, and racially homogenous entity, which is quite far from the truth.

The landscape of Rural America is rich and diverse. From the predominantly African American communities in the Black Belt to the Hispanic communities along the Mexican border to the tribal communities that dot our landscape to the French speaking communities along the New England/Canadian border, there is a lot of variety in Rural America. These communities all share unique concerns and attempts to paint them all with a broad brush does a huge disservice to the people who live there and their struggles. However, if you read this piece, you might think that the struggles of Rural America aren't important. The author after all does a fantastic job of minimizing the struggles of Rural America, which is home of the some of the deepest and more persistent poverty in the country. After all, non-metro poverty is higher than metro poverty, a difference that is even more pronounced in communities of color. Poverty in Rural America is even multigenerational with 86% of persistent poverty counties, defined as counties with a poverty rate of 20% or more for the last three Censuses, having entirely rural populations.

Many of the "urban" concerns that she notes are also very much relevant to these communities. For example, gun violence plagues many rural communities. My home county, Robeson County, North Carolina, often tops the list for violent crime in North Carolina. For people where I grew up, gun violence is a very real concern. Infrastructure is also a major concern where I grew up, mainly broadband infrastructure. We live in an age where many in Rural America lack access to adequate broadband, a major impediment to economic growth. My home community also faces issues with more traditional infrastructure, mainly Interstate 95, and the need to widen it in order to accommodate the traffic that travels between the Northeast and Florida.

Many rural communities also face issues with clean water and air. In the Midwest and South, industrial farming has helped to lead to polluted waterways. In Appalachia, the legacy of coal mining has left a polluted landscape. In other communities, the spread of fracking and the growth of the natural gas industry has led to concerns about air and water quality. The spread of gas pipelines is also creating concern for water quality in rural communities, Dakota Access Pipeline protests in rural North Dakota from 2016 is a great example of the tension that this has created.

Perhaps most troubling is her belief that focused on an idealized Rural America is focusing on Rural America. She is correct that politicians like to espouse nostalgia for "small town America." She is incorrect in her belief that it is actually is an attempt to depict people who actually live in these communities. When a politician talks about "traditional" small town values, are they talking about the people who live in an impoverished farming community in Mississippi? Or are they talking about the Rural America that has been depicted in shows like "Green Acres," "The Andy Griffith Show," or countless other TV shows and movies that offer a simplistic depiction of rural America? The answer should be obvious. When a politician talks about "small town values," they are curating a false narrative for the predominantly urban and suburban voting base that they need to appeal to in order to win an election. The "small town values" that are espoused by politicians are a simplistic creation, one that serves to further obscure the problems being faced by the small towns whose values that they are extolling. Scapegoating Rural America for the rightward shift in the political discourse is quite disingenuous.

Finally, in framing her argument, she attempts to depict the Memorial Day celebration in Voorheesville, New York, a suburb of Albany, as representative of Rural America.  Perhaps the author would benefit from visiting a rural community and seeing what is out there for herself.