The Dichotomy of Living In Nebraska

I've lived in Nebraska for about 50 years now and I'm still trying to figure it out.  Don't get me wrong.  Nebraska is not a bad place, but is it really a good place for someone like me?  I'm pretty liberal in my views on politics, religion, and life in general.  Generally speaking, I believe that people should be able to live their lives the way they want to rather than live them according to some kind of master plan dreamed up by someone else.  That's where Nebraska and I are different.

Let me tell you up front that my idea of people living lives their own way doesn't mean living in a lawless, chaotic anarchy where heavily armed bands of people roam the streets inflicting untold mayhem on whomever they encounter.  It means that people should be able to choose their own religion, sexual preference, political views, and living situations without others penalizing them for being different.  That's all.

Nebraska is a conservative state and people here don't like change very much.  Anything new and different is viewed with some level of suspicion and if you do anything different from the norm you will likely have someone screaming "Get a job!" at you.  If you join a protest march, you hear "Get a job!"  If you canvas your neighborhood on behalf of a liberal political candidate, you'll hear "Get a job!" right before they slam the door in your face or maybe let their dog loose to chase you off.  If you go jogging -- "Get a job!".  If you ask your restaurant server if they have any gluten free items -- "Get a job!"  If you buy too much yogurt at the grocery store -- "Get a job!"  Maybe those words of encouragement are the reason our unemployment rate is so low here.  Apparently only hardcore rule breakers don't have jobs.

That being said, there are a lot of really good reasons to live in Nebraska, too.  Unemployment is low, the cost of living is lower than most places, the schools are pretty good, and we only half to drive about an hour and a half to go see that butter cow at the Iowa State Fair. And with the ongoing climate change, it will only be a few years until we no longer have those cold Nebraska winters everyone used to talk about.

I'll probably stay here for a while longer. As long as I'm careful not to break any of the rules listed above, I think they'll let me stay. I hope so because I really want to go see that damned butter cow at some point.