Bubble Burst, Far from Home
I moved to California in 2014 but my heart has never truly left Iowa. I ventured west for a different experience, to learn some new things and meet new people, but in the back of my mind and depths of my heart, Iowans were always my people. No external pressure from family or friends was needed to return to “God’s Country” — that fire burned internally. It’s truly frustrating to tell people, “I’m from Iowa,” and hear the response, “I’m sorry,” or the utterly unimaginative, “That sucks.” But I always grit my teeth, smile and tell them there’s more to Iowa and the Midwest; it’s really a great place to live and grow up, and that there’s just something about the people.
I defended you. I defended us all. But the presidential election result from my home state on November 8th put a sizable, debilitating crack in my Iowan armor. I can’t defend Iowa being a great place to grow up anymore when a majority of Iowans voted for a President-Elect whose running mate believes it is okay to electrocute a gay youth if their parents want to make them straight. That is conversion therapy. That is real and it happens, to humans, in the United States of America. And it’s going to continue to happen.
I defended you. I defended us all. But the presidential election result from my home state on November 8th put a sizable, debilitating crack in my Iowan armor.
I can’t defend Iowa being a welcoming place for immigrants, because our statewide diversity continues to be a stumbling block and a majority of Iowans just voted for a President-Elect who wants to deport that diversity. Door to door, taken from homes, they will be gone. The agricultural backbone of our state and our country will be devastated. If we are honest with ourselves, the jobs they will leave behind aren’t the middle-class, high-paying jobs this country craves and our crime rates will remain static. Instead, we will lose community members, friends and family who uprooted their livelihoods to find a better place for their loved ones — something every one of us would certainly do if required.
I can’t defend an Iowa that boasts about being the first to award degrees from its state universities to women, the first to admit a woman to the bar, and grant property and custody rights to women long before the rest of the nation, when the majority of Iowans voted for a President-Elect who demeans women, devalues women and sexually assaults women. This is not perception, this is not the liberal left howling about safe spaces, it is incontrovertible fact.
“Our liberties we prize, our rights we will maintain.” State Motto of Iowa
All of this is to say, I’ve always been skeptical of my California bubble while fiercely holding onto my Iowa pride. That came to an abrupt halt on election night. I know there’s a swath of country between the coasts that feels flown over, underappreciated, culture-clashed and taken advantage of. I grew up in it and I understand it. But, Iowa, I’m begging you to see that the frustration with politicians, the status quo, or whatever drove the majority of you to the polls shouldn’t have come at the life-threatening expense of the people and liberties we all prize. Here’s hoping we maintain the rights.
