To those living in small towns....

[ygolo]

Do you really believe your values are better than those who live in cities or suburbs?

[Eldanen]

Values? What values? My exposure to ideology online has led me to believe that a great variety of values exists. So, my values aren't really better or worse than the values of those who live in cities or suburbs. Why'd you phrase your question with a *really*? What prompted the question? My contact with Discordianism has probably led me to a great break with those in my locality >:>. Strangely enough, the society in this area seems to be built on a phenomenon where people just go to work and go home everyday.

There's not really much activity out there. It's boring. You can go to the bookstore or a coffee shop and try to find someone who might be walking in an aisle near you reading a book on a subject you might also be interested in, and not find anyone. Mostly, they're all reading boring home & garden magazines. And the coffee shops which might be a good place to trade ideas and have good discussions are pretty much deserted. I remember going to one recently and there was a sign on each of the tables saying that if you didn't buy something you had to get out, lol. That doesn't really promote socialization.

And as far as people my age go, maybe late teens early twenties crowd.... Seems quite small. I'm not sure what the heck they're doing, but they sure haven't been in any of the areas I've been going to.

[ygolo]

The reason I use the word "really" is because I am testing to see if people hold the belief in question.

If one were to listen to the political rhetoric of our current political campaign, one Sarah Palin's major points is that she has "small-town values." The implication is that this is somehow appealing. So, if this campaign strategy is to be effective, there must be some who believe small-toen values are better than city or suburban values,

I wanted to check to see if people living in small towns were people who believed this. Certainly, people lieving in cities or the subarbs may also be among those who believe "small-town values" are better. But it seemed more plausible that it would be people in small towns who believed this.

[Eldanen]

The biggest thing about small-town values supposedly is that it is more tight-knit in relational associations and slower-paced, so it might be more healthy for people. Me, I find tight-knit social groups extremely limiting. I'm not sure what in particular they would mean besides that. Unless they think that by "small-town values," they mean, "Christian values." Euphemism, heh.

[ygolo]

I was most "close knit" in high-school, and college, in which the culture was much closer to "city" in that there were a lot of people in close quarters.

I also generally see more close-knittedness in cities than in small towns, and I've been in both. In cities, there are certainly more strangers, but there are also more people in close-quarters who can be friends.

Slower-pace in small-town, I can see. Less traffic, less "other people" to worry about. You porbably could in some small towns leave your door unlocked (but certainly not all of them).

I presume there are Christians in cities and suburbs too. But of course, you will also have more of other religions too.

I still don't know what "small-town values" are nor do I see how they can be appreciably different from urban or suburbsn values. Desiring a slower-pace is the only thing I can see. Slower-pace appeals to me in general.

But, how does valuing a slower-pace of life make one a more appealing candidate for vice-president?

[Eldanen]

I dunno. There's been a lot of mention about how western civilization is supposedly too hurried, hectic, frenetic for a person's health. Also, there's a hint of reactionary ideas in the idea of small-town values. Let's return to something back then. Because society has certainly grown and become more global recently. The advent of the Internet has made access to a lot of stuff much easier, and cultural borders are wearing down.

[ygolo]

Slower pace life appeals to me also.

I don't think the fast pace of life itself is necesarily unhealthy. However, impatience can be.

Still, just becaue I like a slower pace, does that mean it is better?

If someone likes a faster pace, I see nothing inherently worse in that.

I do think "small town values" is a euphamism for something else. I don't really find that something else appealing.

[Eldanen]

Like I said, "small town values" probably is a euphemism for fundamentalist christianity values.

[ygolo]

Originally Posted by Eldanen

Like I said, "small town values" probably is a euphemism for fundamentalist christianity values.

What's the difference between fundamentalist Christian values, and plain-old Christian values?

I know there is a difference but I don't know what it is.

[Eldanen]

Originally Posted by ygolo

What's the difference between fundamentalist Christian values, and plain-old Christian values?

I know there is a difference but I don't know what it is.

What we call fundamentalist today is probably equal to "plain-old Christian values." That is, the values of the 1800s, early 1900s, etc. There are spiritual christians who are less literal, don't take everything as it's said and are loose in their interpretations. But that's somewhat of a modern day phenomenon.