Iowa Nice

[This is somewhat old news, but I found a video response and wanted to share. Enjoy.]

I am proud to be from Iowa, and plan on staying here for the long run. Of course I will want to travel and visit other places, but I want my roots to stay here. My family is here, I appreciate Iowa values, the cost of living is low, we have 4 seasons (though winter seems to be hiding this year, but I'm ok with that), I feel safe, and, as a teacher, Iowa has a great education system. Culture can be found if you look for it, and we are a progressive state. I could keep going but that's not the point of this post.

Stephen Bloom, a (former, I believe) Iowa professor wrote an editorial of his opinions of Iowa after having lived in Iowa for 20 years. I will let you form your own opinion on the article, which you can find here.

Pete Temple, Sports Editor at the Monticello Express, our local newspaper (our family newspaper), wrote a column in response to the article I appreciated and enjoyed. You can read it here. I thought he had some great points, and wasn't coming from a jaded place.

I came across this youtube video, also in response to the article. I have watched it a few times, and I think it's pretty witty. Please note this is not work-appropriate and does contain "adult language". You can view the clean(er) version here.

Go Panthers.

Ignorance

I recently saw this commercial and it made me incredibly angry. I have been teaching at risk students this semester from very diverse backgrounds, including cultural, social, and religious differences. Every time I see something like this, I think of them. In our country, we have a separation between CHURCH and STATE. Anyone from any background can express themselves freely and worship (or not worship) any god they want. Our country was build on Christianity, but that is not what sustains it now. It is ignorance like this that makes me ache for my students who are outcasted by expressing themselves or following the cultural norms they know. In response to Rick Perry, it's not a matter of a "war on religion" it's a right of expression. "Faith made America strong. It can make her strong again." Really? It seems to me many of our worldly problems are caused by faith and religion. I do not support you.

Rant over. It's some food for thought. If you agree or disagree, leave a comment! I'd love to hear your viewpoints.

Disclaimer: I am not angry at religion, I am angry at people who assume religion is the remedy for our worldly problems.

Update: Here's a republican commercial I can appreciate :)