Rural Juror

Although Radford has been declared a "Metropolitan Statistical Area" together with Blacksburg and Christiansburg, there's no denying we're rural. And according to this Small-Town Philanthropy article I just read, educated people still have very ignorant views about what to do with us:

Richard Foster, vice president for programs at the Kellogg foundation, says when Kellogg conducted a poll of individuals and state and federal legislators about rural America a few years ago, it found that people had "bipolar" views.

The first, he told a recent conference on rural issues: "People living there are hard-working people, they're self-sufficient, self-reliant." They turn to their neighbors when they need help and are too proud to accept outside aid.

The second: "Everybody's name is Bubba, and they're not intelligent at all." They operate methamphetamine labs and produce high rates of teenage pregancy and youth drug abuse and "really don't deserve our help."

"In either scenario," he said, "there's not a lot of help coming to rural America."

And what do we need help with? Here's a short list of rural challenges from the Carsey Institute--many of which hit pretty close to home:

Loss of population, especially young people, as manufacturing industries decline in the face of technological change and overseas competition.

Migration of immigrants, primarily Hispanics, to take low-wage farm and food-processing jobs.

Renewed interest in coal production as a result of rising oil prices, risking environmental degradation.

Movement of retirement-age people and others to rural areas for "quality of life" reasons, bringing new skills but also contributing to real-estate sprawl, driving up housing costs, and requiring additional health care and transportation.

Chronic poverty in regions such as central Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta.

If you think non-Appalachians are going to find these issues obvious and come to the rescue, good luck. What we need are some loud voices, people!

Political Science

The Union of Concerned Scientists has announced that Jesse Springer is the winner of their Science Idol: Scientific Integrity Editorial Cartoon contest. I think it's pretty apt. Check out the link to view the nominees and/or order a calendar!

McGovern: Can we let him govern?

Recently our group gathered to watch Robert Greenwald's Uncovered: The War on Iraq, released in 2003 and documenting "how the Bush administration hoodwinked the American people into supporting an unnecessary war." It was a sobering reminder about how fear and manipulation got this country where we are today... The awful war continues, and although some of the players have been swapped out, our government still manages to hemorrhage money to contractors while leaving our soldiers ill-equipped and without a coherent purpose.

On a positive note, we were introduced to Ray McGovern, a former CIA officer turned activist who, in the film, tore apart Colin Powell's war "justification" presentation to the UN--and in 2006 confronted Rumsfeld with his lies. In a panel on the media that was one of the DVD's extra features, he compared watching the intelligence agencies become the administrations fabricators to seeing a loved one violated. This man worked for the CIA for 27 years and yet returned his Intelligence Commendation award in protest of torture. I only wish we could clone this guy and bring some accountability back to DC. It's just so frustrating that most of the American people don't even know his name. Here are some of his writings, if you're interested in further reading.

Facebook as political mirror

A professor of mine used to quote the old adage about statistics being like a lamp-post: more often used to lean on than to shed light. And although statistics never show a complete truth, I believe they can be revealing.

For example, I was recently checking out the Network pages on Facebook. There's a statistics section that lists its members' favorite books/movies/interests etc. Another thing logged is Political Views.

For the Radford University Network (12,973 people) the stats looked like this:
52% - None Listed
13% - Conservative
12% - Liberal
12% - Moderate
5% - Other
3% - Very Liberal
1% - Libertarian
1% - Very Conservative
1% - Apathetic

Surely Virginia Tech folks are more interested in politics, I thought. But no, apparently not. Of 45,065 people you get:
52% - None Listed
13% - Moderate
13% - Conservative
11% - Liberal
4% - Other
2% - Apathetic
2% - Very Liberal
1% - Very Conservative
1% - Libertarian

Tim & I had the opportunity to hear Daniel Spiro speak this weekend, and he asked the audience to imagine the US population, first removing the apathetic (who don't care enough to enter the conversation), and then removing the dogmatic (for whom dialogue is irrelevant)... Then he asked how many are left who are willing to work toward common ground?

This thought weighs heavy on me and it's my goal (and, I believe, the goal of the Radford Operation Democracy Council) to bring more people into the Dialogue Camp, as it were. I honestly don't care which side of the aisle you come from--we're not politically affiliated, after all. What I want is for citizens to become a part of the process.

Conversation, anyone?

"I thought that if you had an acoustic guitar it meant that you were a protest singer"

A couple more lists for the music lovers out there:

Spinner.com's 20 Protest Songs That Mattered

PopMatters' Say It Out Loud! 65 Great Protest Songs

I'm sure Rick & Tim can point out the ones that are flagrantly missing... but can anyone name the song/band I stole this entry's title from? (Without using Google, that is!)

Mouth made of money

The Wall Street Journal recently reported on an interesting phenomenon in Giving Till It Hurts... And one author's analysis will make sense at least to those of us who grew up being taught to tithe 10% of our earnings in church. There may just be some logic to the old adage that the more you give, the more you seem to get in return.

Nonprofits say they are receiving an increasing number of “stretch” gifts, donations seemingly out of proportion to the givers’ resources. To the shock or chagrin of friends and family, these gifts often require donors to make sacrifices or at least live more modestly than their income would allow...

Arthur C. Brooks argues in his book “Who Really Cares,” which identifies the forces behind American charity, that people who give in a way that pinches are happier and, surprisingly, end up wealthier. According to Mr. Brooks’s analysis, a dollar donated to charity led to $3.75 in extra income for the donor in 2000. “They often create great discomfort among their families, but when people give there is substantial personal transformation,” says Mr. Brooks, an economist and professor of public administration at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School. “They tend to work harder,” leading to greater prosperity, and in the long run, he says, “this leads to more success, both financial and nonfinancial.”

Many of you probably volunteer your time, but I ask you, as I ask myself: Are we feeling particularly poor today? Maybe we should consider giving at a sacrificial level and see what happens...

Earth still living... for now

*Cue dramatic doomsday music*

Just kidding, this post is actually a light one: Whether or not you attended the Radford ODC's hoppin' Live Earth gathering, chances are you didn't get to see more than the highlights of the Live Earth concerts. Well now you can check out the music in much more detail.

I personally recommend Missy Higgins (Australia), especially the song "Steer"; David Gray & Damien Rice (UK) doing "Que Sera Sera"; and if you must catch Toni Collette & the Finish (Australia) out of curiosity like I did, try "Children of the Revolution."

If you get a chance to watch some of the coverage, please post comments listing your favorites (and ones to avoid!)