A “Flyover Conservative” Manifesto

I don’t typically write about politics. However, 2016 has not been a typical election cycle. The following statements are more than simply politics, they are a way of life for many in our great nation.

Some very loud voices are making blanket statements about conservative views, so I will add mine to the fray.

I live in what is called disparagingly by some “flyover country”. I grew up on a farm in the Midwest, and live in a small town now. I chose this. I have been in several vocations that would have given me financial gain and upward mobility if I moved my family to the city. I chose small town life for my family. Communities with good schools, fairly strong religious groups, and open spaces.

Despite the demographics shift from rural to urban centers, there are still a lot of young adults like me. Ones that grew up on the farm, went to college, and came back to the small town life. Some of us never left. We are not hard to figure out if people just listen and not assume.

The “flyover conservative” usually just wants left alone. That is different from being ignored. We are in favor of smaller, not larger government. Don’t start new programs if the ones like it have been failures. We disdain the constant drumbeat of more proposed laws and regulations, when the ones in the books are not enforced. We typically work hard to make ends meet. We usually don’t ask for help unless it’s a desperate last resort. We seek to take responsibility for the messes we make.

We value education. Many of us have one or more college degrees and/or vocational certifications. We want the freedom to home educate our children without government oversight. We will show you that our children are well educated and socially well adjusted with curriculum we as parents choose. If a parent chooses to send their kids to government/public schools, its not a deal breaker. Many of us survived public schools ourselves.

We are not legal scholars, but we know the meaning of the amendments in the bill of rights. We understand that “the purpose of the second amendment is to protect the other nine in the bill of rights” as former congressman Joe Walsh says. We do not all have guns, but respect the rights of those who do.

We believe in family. This means protecting all of the family, from the unborn to the elderly, and fighting to maintain marriages in-between. This means not giving up when life hands us less than ideal circumstances, or when we make poor choices (ie personal responsibility).

We are not the xenophobic fear-mongers that wear white sheets at night that the media would portray. Many of us have parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents who were immigrants to this country. We understand the hard work that our family put in to build their lives here. We can see the work of the “melting pot” of America bringing together all races, tribes, and nations within our borders to contribute to a great country. We are protective of that. We will resist all efforts, both foreign and domestic to diminish over two hundred years of progress as a nation.

These statements are the heart of “flyover conservatives”. Any candidate that ignores this, does so at their own peril.