Reflections on my new "Home"

[jasop]

I was one of those people who was directly affected by Katrina, the Hurricane of the Century that devastated the Gulf Coast which was made possible by Global Warming. Thanks Coporate Pigs! :hi:

I moved my my wife and daughters (age 2 and 7 at the time) from Louisiana to Tennessee where we moved into a two bedroom apartment with my wife's parents and the family dog. The wife and I slept on the floor for months and tried to keep things going forward. We, of course, were the lucky ones. Louisiana is a mess and still is almost a year later. I am glad to be here in Tennessee but I am becoming very aware of how certain parts of this country are almost completely brainwashed by a bombardment of fantical religious extremists on the radio stations and television stations. I can scan the radio and there are actually more religious and right-wing stations that normal music stations. And this is on FM not AM! I would be scare to check AM as it might be religious extremists calling for holy wars against innocent people in other countries! (Oh wait that IS on the FM stations!)

Tennessee is a very scary state. The people here in Tennessee are ruled by the rich right-wing religious fanatics and given a little fake freedom and lots of entertainment to keep the people placated and working for the companies these rulers own stock in.

MegaMall Churches are everywhere and under construction across the street from each other. I had never even seen these MegaMall Churches untill I moved here. To give you a picture of these places they are giant complexes with Coffee Shops, Gift Shops, Propaganda Stores (disguised as BookStores), and other little amenities. I find this strange that a tax-exempt organization is allowed to profit like this. Where is Jesus when you need him! He would be turning over more than a few tables thats for sure!

I know Louisiana is not somewhere you would think is very liberal but there is a HUGE difference between Lousiana and Tennessee. Its like I am in a theocracy.

So far any fellow Tennessee citizens I have the following questions:
1) Has it always been like this?
2) Are you aware that the state you live in is basically a Theocracy ruled almost like what we were told the Taliban ruled Afghanistan was like?

To people reading this from other parts of the USA I ask the following:
1) Is your state like this or becoming like this?
2) Is this description of Tennessee something you look forward to?

And to everyone: IS THIS WHAT OUR ENTIRE COUNTRY IS BECOMING?

[LibDemAlways]

1. California is too big and diverse to

become the kind of "theocracy" you describe. I live in a suburban area that's about half Jewish, and there is only one semi-large Christian "megachurch" in the area, but it's no more influential than any other religion around here.

Most of the people I know don't attend any church, or attend a more traditional Protestant or Catholic church - when they bother to go at all.

Interesting aside, though. A Jewish family that had lived near me for many years sold their home and moved to South Carolina last fall because the husband had taken a new job. They didn't last six months. The wife felt they had moved to another planet, and couldn't wait to come back to Southern California.

[tnlefty]

2. Welcome, jasop! Where did you end up? We have some evacuees in my

community. We volunteered a couple of Saturdays and then my spouse went back for a third and we got tired of being asked 'which church are you here helping out for?' We were sorting the donated furniture, clothing, etc. so that the survivor families could choose what they needed and then items were loaded onto trucks and moved to their temporary homes. We got tired of answering, 'I don't need a church to tell me that these people need help, and I'm here to help because it's what I feel like I need to do, and I'm not here with a church.' We finally gave up which is sad.

Some of us fight the things that you are talking about, and I have noticed that some of the less fanatical folks who have had their eyes opened a little by events, i.e. the Terri Schiavo fiasco, are noticing a lot more and are becoming uncomfortable. Some of the more mainstream folks are beginning to see theocracy and are unnerved. So now you must help with the push back.

Oops, you're new to the state and I've already given you a task!:hi:

[jasop]

3. Thanks TNLefty! I like seeing those two words together...

gives me hope that maybe its not just a one sided state. I am in Hixson right outside of Chattanooga. On a positive note I love the scenery here. I am very much interested in finding the Tennessee Underground (if you will) because I can't imagine everyone here being this dilusional about the state of things.

Are you near Chattanooga? And if so, where do the regular folks hide?

[tnlefty]

4. I'm across the river in what used to be a rural community between

Chattanooga and Cleveland - Ooltewah/Harrison. The "regular" folks are around the UTC campus, downtown, and they could be next door and just in hiding! I think that Drinking Liberally is on the 1st and 3rd Thurs. of every month, but check the website to be sure! The Hamilton County Democratic Headquarters is on Patten Parkway, downtown. We're trying to keep Democracy for Chattanooga afloat, and I'll admit we have so many candidates running for local offices that I've not been attending some of these meetings as regularly as I should. The local Dem website is www.hamdems.org. If you have time or talents to volunteer for Terry Stulce who is running against Zach Wamp in the 3rd Congressional District, please let me know.

I have a friend who is from CO and her family moved here for a couple of years and she's back in CO as of a year ago (damn I miss her). Anyway she met Howard Dean and she told him that the Dems in the Chattanooga area are tough cause they have to be, they fight hard, and they have fun, too!

[SharonAnn]

5. I came here from the Midwest and have found the same thing. It's

some kind of a time-warp. I feel like I'm back in the days of "Inherit the Wind" or even earlier. And I must say that I've never met so many absolutely closed mind people. They focus on the Old Testament and make up all sorts of beliefs from it.

I was educated in the Midwest (Iowa, where I grew up) and studied Theology and Philosophy as part of my education at a Jesuit University while majoring in Business. The Jesuits never permitted us such sloppy thinking and such careless "beliefs" as I see around here.

Now I'll probably get chastised for what I've said, but I'm in a rural area south of Knoxville and it's darned lonely here for moderate thinking, educated, Christ-following Christians.

[diamondsndust]

6. Howdy Neighbor!

:hi: I'm just south of you in Meigs County, about 6 miles from Watts Bar Dam. I moved here from Miami when I was 13.. talk about culture shock! I left about a week after graduating high school in '81 and wound up back here about 3 years ago. I'll tell ya, I've never seen as many hypocrites in my life as I have seen around here. This town is what turned me against going to church when I was a teenager. Seeing all the people drinking it up monday thru saturday, partying, beating their wives, running drugs, etc. .... then come to church on sunday and put on their "holier than thou" act. I decided I didn't need to go to church if this is how it was, I sure didn't want to be like them!

[Clark2008]

7. I think it depends on where you live

I live in Knoxville proper and don't see these sorts of rural relig-mania as much.

Sure, there's a mega church on every corner, but with the university and the laboratories in Oak Ridge, there are also a good blend of progressive-thinking, intelligent people in the larger cities, too.

But, I completely agree with the OP in that there is NO liberal programming AT ALL on the radio stations. It's absurd. At least, in Knoxville, The Lionel Show is broadcast - of course, it's on well after rush hour when no one can hear it. :eyes:

[ksilvas]

8. Howdy from Redbank,

I moved here from Tucson AZ, about 3 months ago, and it was quite a shock.
But I did live in Penscola FL for about 9 years so mabey not as
shocking as it should have been.
As far as radio go's, you've got to listen to 1310 AM, it's all progressive
all the time. A first for any city I've ever lived. 88.1 is the NPR station
and 95.1 is the kids college station.
Theres liberals here and more on the way. Where gonna make
Chattanooga the oasis of the Cumberland. Better dead than Red.
I'm out.

[NashVegas]

9. Welcome

I was in a similar cultural shock when I moved here.

1) Has it always been like this?

Shortly after arriving in Nashville, and seeing all the passion crimes that made front page news, I asked an acquaintance which came first: the flock or the shepherds? He said it was definitely the sheep.


2) Are you aware that the state you live in is basically a Theocracy ruled almost like what we were told the Taliban ruled Afghanistan was like?

I'm aware of it; I ignore them. Haven't been arrested yet.

[Flirtus]

10. howdy a month late!

I've been tuned out for a while, so hope you're still reading replies.

I'm in Brainerd, have been for 47 years, and have lived other places a little, I think you can find any sort of people anywhere, but I greatly appreciate your critique of our radio stations. I'm happy with WSMC, most of the time, but my daughter makes me tapes of more current music. The dj's on most stations make me nuts. I get all my hard news from DU, and try to remember that the TV news is all filtered by advertisers and PC. I can't listen to WUTC anymore - it's not their fault, but NPR has gone churchy, too. And I go to church! I just don't want to be preached at by someone I can't argue with.

The rich right-wing IS scarey. You *are* on the whiter and richer side of the river, so appreciate the neat and clean grocery stores there. Hang around the HamDems and meet some of the rich left-wing. They're kinda scarey in their own way.

I'm currently distressed that we can't raise the minimum wage in Tennessee and that recycling is not being taught to our kids.

Our current mayor is pretty much OK with the taliban model, sorry you missed the last two mayors who were pretty progressive for these parts. The pendulum swings and will swing again.

The church I grew up in had a bookstore, very modest, but we collected sales tax unless the purchaser had a tax exempt form on file. I am aware of that huge church past northgate with the coffee shop - isn't it a Starbucks? etc, and I've wondered what their tax basis is.

I've met several of our Katrina friends, and ya'll are adding to our community in many ways, good ways. It's hard to broaden the minds of people who've never lived more than a couple of miles from where they grew up.

I have a cousin who works in a hospital in Baton Rouge, who has been coming to visit her mom every couple of months instead of once a year, because the stress is so great in LA.

[NotGivingUp]

11. What part of Tennessee did you move to? We were thinking...

about moving there, but your description of it has me a little worried. Doesn't sound too nice.