Well, they all seem to being doing stuff about their cultures, so I get to, too. Or just ignore me. I tend just to talk for the fun of it. (Actually, at one point, I had [intentionally] perfected the art of killing conversations dead. There's nothing more fun to do than create a whole series of awkward pauses amoung people who normally get on really well. It also exposes a person for who they are remarkably well.)
Well, we know I come from the midwest and the south. Except, in the south, I came from Raleigh (the capital) and one of the boomiest (is that a word) cities in one of the areas with a ridiculously high PhD count. So really, I came from a cosmopolitan south (heck, our local art museum is one of the best places of Egyptology outside of Britian).
But, boy, can I tell you about the midwest. I lived in the Quad Cities (which is quite liberal, and is "blue" Iowa), but then I moved to Illinois. My dad's family's from Northern (red) Iowa, and they sure know their culture. Aside from the wide variety in their diet (my uncle swears and yells when they "ruin" the salad by putting tomatoes, carrots or anything that's not iceberg lettuce in it, my father had never had lasagne until he went to university and the only vegetables that they eat are what they grow - corn, peas, green beans, beets, lettuce. Oh, and the might buy potatoes. If you want fruit, you get an apple or a banana. Oranges are for Christmas, if you're lucky - not that they can't afford or get variety, but why would they want to? Apples is fine for them. My sister was asked if my brother was a vegetarian because [despite eating 2 steaks and some chicken] he didn't eat some pork tenderloin), northern Iowans have a lovely sympathy for other cultures. Because Iowa schools are very, very uniform throughout the state, the Iowa exams are used for a significant proportion of US standardised testings. However, this makes people think that, instead of providing a very good base mean, median and range, this means Iowa is the best. People from central Iowa honestly can't think of why people, after going to Iowa State and University of Iowa people are leaving the (very) flat, (very) dull, (very) average state.
Of course, I didn't live in Iowa but for 3 years, I lived in Illinois, one of the bluest states that's elected 2 of the 3 black senators since Reconstruction and is overrunning with Dems in their state house - the incredibly unpopular Democratic Governor was recently relected by 10% against a very competent Republican (who had pretty much unanimous support in the press). The reason for that is Chicago (60% of Illinois' population), which is overwhelmingly Democratic. The rest of the state is as red as northern Iowa. And guess where I lived?
That's right. I lived in a place (Peoria) where people wonder why other people don't want to live in Peoria. I lived in a place where Bradley University (never heard of it? Really... that's odd. People here put it in line with Northwestern, Duke and Georgetown, so it must be famous) is
highly respected. I lived in a place where it's not that uncommon to find someone who hasn't gone more than 45 minutes in any direction.
There's mighty great arrogance in these places. Not because they've seen the world, and don't like what they see. Not because they've been told that they're the best. Not because they're confident in what they do. They're arrogant because they don't need anything. The saying "if it plays in Peoria, it'll play anywhere" fits Peoria (and northern Iowa, but there's no significantly sized market to speak of) very well. The people here just are creative enough to realise they need things. They make do. They settle for what they have. Only if there's shining benefits to novelty will the people of Peoria embrace it. And because they are content (not necessarily happy), they assume that everyone else should be too. And so when people from "foreign" places (read Chicago, St. Louis or anywhere 3 hours or more away) don't settle, they assume that the people aren't getting a lifestyle as good as theirs. So, naturally, they get arrogant. And believe me, arrogance is rife in this little community.
However, Pete's completely right. Our generation is changing. The arrogance is less common amoung those that are younger, especially in Peoria. It seems that the internet and other such communicative devices have opened the world for some. And yet many, many are still the same.
As for the other attributes, belligerent is spot on for here, and there ain't nobody who has a stronger work drive than those of the red parts of Iowa and Illinios - they're the good ol' "pull yourself up by the boots" Reaganites and those who feel they owe their companies the best work, regardless of time or money.
Dear god, I wrote a lot. And I didn't even make my point.
