Are you new to Idaho or are you a native to this great state? If you are new you probably have experienced some animosity against you for bringing in your "out of state values," right?
I know when I moved to Idaho 30+ years ago, I was given a ticket with my California License plates just after pulling into the state and a message from the officer: "And get those license plates changed, we don't need your kind here." What the officer didn't know was that I couldn't have agreed more and what else he didn't know was that I came from Hawai'i not California but the reason I left both were the same...government abuse.
Aside from that oddly welcoming incident, Idaho was a dream come true, I loved it as I listened to KTVB give the traffic reports and the news that we clearly see now that over tells the story about our crime rate and how bad traffic was, I laughed as I entered the interstate without even having to look behind me to merge! Well, sadly KTVB isn't any different today, its still about fear porn but it seems all else has changed.
Fast forward 30 years to today and I am feeling the same way I did when I left both other states and I am struggling like I know many of you are on what to do now. I often think about refugees from other countries that come to America in search of freedom only when they come here realize it wasn't as they thought as they see the same edicts and regulations coming that came to them. There is also still an animosity for Idahoans against out-of-staters and although I see a bit of that to be true I wanted to make a point.
Are out-of-staters responsible for Idaho's coming demise? I suppose probably to some degree contributors but aren't we all? Why do current residents focus so much on out-of-staters than bothering to look at themselves? Take for example, refugees from foreign countries, they understand what life was like when they left, they lived it and they are extremely sensitive to the abuses that they left meaning that they are more alert to abuses than those that didn't live through it. Why wouldn't Americans be any different traveling from one state to another?
I have also come to realize one other thing. Most Idahoan's I talk to are from other states and this has strengthened the position that I take in this post. They were told long ago when they got here that they could call themselves natives after they were here for 7 years so my assumption may be correct. I realized the "hatred" for out-of-staters is indeed because they aren't natives in the organic sense at all but were in fact refugees!
Its a fact that Idaho's problems have been here a long time and they are getting worse but in my experience the problem may be more related to the people that have lived here their whole lives than those that moved here. The reason generally and in my view is because those that grew up here never experienced what many of us have and therefore were unable to see the incremental encroachments. Additionally, those that lived here seemed to think that Idaho was so great, that nothing could ever happen here and I believe that mindset still exists today with the apathy I see. Also, since I travel the state, generally speaking those that are the most politically active are not those that grew up here, they are those that moved here. Please understand of course, this is no disrespect for native Idahoans or those moving here it is to just call something I call into question as I do about anything that comes up, after all I was once a refugee and now I am as a resident.
I always here "Idaho Values..." What is an Idaho value anyway? When I ask people no one can cogently answer the question. Sure it sounds good but so does socialism but what's behind the curtain? If I had to guess it would be the "good 'ol Boys, the establishment republicans that tout such soothing words but when you look at their policies, they are not American or Constitutional and are more quite the opposite. Many involved in Idaho Politics don't even know that Neocon tendencies are socialist.
So as Idaho continues to slide and America becomes more divided, please not only understand that such division is intentional by those in power dividing but don't misunderstand my writing as an insult to either those that move here or those that are up here. I write to bring awareness to the fact that division will kill this country.
We are all American's suffering from our demise, we will all be affected the same way and my ultimate goal is to help unite people to realize if we don't work together to fix it, Idaho will go the way of the rest of the country but we must be willing to see the truth for what it is and understand division is about telling the lie, rather than telling the truth and there is a consequence today for minding your own business and that is, if you aren't paying attention those that tell you so on one hand are making your business theirs.
Idaho is great because it is free and it is free not because of conjured up republicanized "Idaho Values" (since they don't adhere to their platform anyway) it is because of the principles of freedom. The Principles of Freedom, those Principles that should unite an entire nation as a whole if they just understood them.
May my fellow Idahoan's (both natives and "new natives" and "refugees" awaken to our awful situation before it is too late.