BRATTLEBORO — I used to feel at odds with my home state of New Hampshire, especially after having relocated to Vermont. The politics in the Green Mountain State are more in line with my own, for the most part, and I have a deeper sense of belonging somewhere for the first time in a long time.
I joined in with the fairly good-natured ribbing that people give New Hampshire. I'd grouse about the “Live Free or Die” state motto with the best of them, but it was because I felt geographically entitled to do so. I came from New Hampshire, so why wouldn't I join in the lighthearted heckling?
But now, New Hampshire has been the focus of three John Oliver rants over the last calendar year.
Granted, this last glimpse into the not-so-intellectually-stimulating world of the New Hampshire House of Representatives was unflattering at best, and we won't even talk about the worst light in which that could be viewed.
However, it seems like everyone has something nasty to say about New Hampshire these days.
Many New Hampshirites are progressive, forward-thinking individuals. Many are doing brilliant things.
New Hampshire totally earns its keep as far as ignorance and weird politics go, but please remember that the people you see in the media are not the majority of New Hampshire citizens.
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That's one of the beautiful things about living in New England. We are subject to experiencing a population that's diverse in many ways: socioeconomically, politically, and culturally. (It's also a little insular in other ways, but whatever.)
We also have to remember that whenever we do see the “bad people” in a certain geographic region, we would do well not to make sweeping generalizations about the whole population.
There are far worse places to live in America - so many. We read about them in the news much more than we do New Hampshire.
Some of us are upstanding citizens with a healthy amount of pride coursing through our veins. We don't appreciate being lumped in with the myopic folks you may hear about from time to time.
So give my Granite State buddies a break...please.