'Flyover' states

[1gobluedem]

I hope this isn't taken as a call out because that's not how I mean it. But I found it very interesting to see someone mention 'flyover states' in another post and it got me thinking.

I know many people on both coasts who simply have no idea what the rest of the country is like and, furthermore, aren't interested in finding out. This is a fascinating country; each state has its own culture, vernacular, interesting history, and scenic grandeur. One of my fondest dreams is to someday jump in a car and spend a year exploring the backroads of the USA, cracked characters and all.

So, I don't understand the dismissal of the rest of the country, the disinterest, and the stereotyping. Do people from the East and West coasts really believe that the rest of the country is somehow dull, boring, backwards, and not worth it?

I had a kid who worked for me a few years ago who was from Virginia. He returned from a forensics competetion in Michigan's Upper Peninsula with his eyes popping out of his head and announced to me "Wow, Lake Superior is really big!" He hadn't known how large the Great Lakes were, even after looking at a map. I traced Lake Superior and superimposed it over the state of Virginia on a map and he was astonished to see that they are roughly the same size.

I have a friend from New Hampshire who has never been west of New York state. She lives on the north side of Lake Winnipesaukee which she classifies as a big lake and she, too, had no idea of the size of the Great Lakes or that they can become as ferocious as the ocean in storms.

Every state in this election is going to matter. Please don't dismiss the the area between the oceans as unimportant. We're here, we're cool, and we matter.

(Edited for punctuation)