Good Tuesday Morning!
I’ve been thinking quite a bit about what it would take to voluntarily leave this place. What more would have to happen here, or somewhere else, that I walked away from West Virginia - a place that I left once, and then worked for years to return to.
I’m starting to think that it won’t be a change in this place, but a lack of change. It often feels like we have forgotten all of our history, all the hard-luck stories, and just live a “Groundhog Day” repeat of the same news over and over.
I’ve been doing research on water pollution in this state, and it’s crazy to think that we had two massive, national news-scale water pollution incidents in this state in a a decade, and yet folks look at environmental regulation as a burden.
We fought no-joke wars - shooting, bombing, people killed wars in this state for the right of labor, of people, to get a fair shake and work with dignity, and then folks want to see labor as the enemy.
We talk about our state being the worst for folks getting an education - literally the worst, 50th of 50 states - and then belittle and pay starvation wages for teachers - expecting masters educated professionals to work for $15.50/hour.
I think if there is no change in those things, that will be the thing that does it. That said, I do feel a little like this tree. Where I live is beautiful. Where I live is hard.
And I don’t know if I will make it if you move me from this place.
Hope y’all have a great week,
It's A Hard Living, But It's Home - West Virginia