Ad Astra Per Aspera
I almost threw a punch the first time I encountered the infamous hatemongers of Topeka. I'm not a creationist and I'm glad that the former attorney general is leaving the state. I'm also a proud Kansan. I take issue with Thomas Frank's What's the Matter With Kansas?. The author expresses astonishment that people sometimes vote against their personal economic self-interest. The concept that principles might outweigh dollars eludes Frank. While I don't endorse hate or ignorance, I completely embrace the deep contrarian streak and willful obstinance demonstrated by my fellow Kansans. These are my people. (Movie trailer found via Plog.)
posted by Happy In Bag @ 1:21 PM
3 Comments:
At 3:15 PM,
Anonymous said…
I'm with you on your appreciation for the ornery Kansan. Representing the diaspora in Seattle is an uphill battle I usually don't have the strength for, but when I do, it totally confounds my friends and co-workers.
Something my mom sent me recently made me positively swell with pride: the William Graham mentioned in this article was my great-great grandfather:
http://www.kansasheritage.org/werner/lane.html
And Mom & Dad themselves were house-parents at KU's first racially integrated fraternity. Sorry, Mister Phelps, you don't speak for everyone.
At 11:04 PM,
bgo said…
Mr. Frank is well-educated but ignorant of facts about Kansas. How can he not be growing up in the most exclusive neighborhood in the state, Mission Hills? My more recent family roots are in 'bushwhacking country' though none of my relatives got caught up in it and did their best to avoid the conflict in the late 1850's. My grandfather Guy (my middle name) loved his nine children and told my late Mom when she left the farm outside Odessa, Missouri, just after leaving high school, to move to Kansas City, to find something to make her independent of leaning on a man for survival. Was he liberal? You betcha! He died when I was 2 so the only real memory of him is him holding me lovingly in his arms when there where so many in the family to be held. I stop now.
At 8:11 AM,
Happy In Bag said…
Thanks for the link, BD. That's fascinating stuff.
What a nice recollection, BGO!
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