Excuse Me, But I'm From Ohio

Over the weekend this article came out in the Washington Post...

Excuse Me, But I'm From Ohio

I have to say, I love it. I identify so strongly with this article. I had a roommate when I lived in D.C. who was the narrow-minded East Coast type. There were four of us - two from Ohio, one from Iowa, and my one roommate, lets call her K, was from New Hampshire. She thought she was being punished in some way by being assigned to an apartment with us. She couldn't believe she would have to live with people who would work for Republicans. K couldn't believe that we could possibly be half as intelligent as her or understand half as much about the world. She went to the amazing, accepting, open-minded Colby College. We could not compare to the amazing, accepting, open-minded people she knew from Colby College.

K made me sad. She was someone who thought she was so enlightened - so smart. Unfortunately she was so arrogant she couldn't even have a civil conversation with anyone who might disagree with her in any way.

It's people like that who make me happy that I did grow up in the Midwest. My parents taught me to respect people whether you agree with them or not. They showed me that good conversation and debate can help you learn about yourself and others. They taught me that hard work and an honest day's labor is something to be proud of whether it is in an office or in a field.

I am proud to have grown up in Ohio and when K one day, while eating a bowl of corn (of course she was a veg,) complained about they ignorance of middle-America and how the coasts should just swallow up the Midwest, I was equally proud of my Iowan roommate as she reminded her to enjoy her corn because without the Midwest K would be screwed.