From the editor: The in between

Two instances—one gleaned recently in a headline the other experienced personally--say a lot about America’s perception of the vast swath in the middle.

The headline asked “heartlanders” not to fret over the selection of Stephen Colbert to replace David Letterman in the latter’s late night television slot. The one experienced personally occurred years before, when a colleague from California informed me during a conversation over the 2008 election that “middle America” would never vote for a black man like Barack Obama.

Now, I’m not interested whether one supports or despises either of the men named—or Letterman, for that matter. Rather, it’s the attitude toward this nation’s middle ground that matters to me.

You see, in the “flyover states” we have yet to advance beyond the days of Jim Crow and casual racism. While wise and broad-minded folks on the coasts accept people based upon factors other than the color of their skin, we seem to be stuck in sepia-toned photographs. In the “flyover states,” we are unable to appreciate comic political satire that might tweak conservative foibles.

At least this is how many on the coasts apparently view Midwestern culture.

Ah, but for their information, the great Midwest thrives on diversity of ideas, experiences and indeed people. Note that Obama was elected while a senator from the great heartland state of Illinois—that’s right, not California or Massachusetts (a state, by the way, torn apart decades ago over the busing of black and white children in order to integrate schools). Claim Obama or consider him a failure, you cannot say middle America would never vote for a black candidate.

No matter, many still consider us resistant to upgrades.

We’re not alone, though. When I lived in cosmopolitan Dallas, a city draped in designer clothes and carted around in expensive vehicles, a New York food columnist writing about a planned trip to the Big D complained that she knew little of what to expect, except for cowboy hats.

Back in 1992 when incumbent George H.W. Bush and challenger Bill Clinton toured southern states and NASCAR races in search of support, several major national publications poked the candidates for courting the “bubba” vote.

Keep in mind that similar pejoratives would never be applied had Bush and Clinton ventured into other symbolically ethnic regions.

The south is “bubba,” meaning dim. Thanks to the wit of Colbert (he’s from South Carolina) and Jeff Foxworthy (from neighboring Georgia), southerners managed to deflect the insult through acceptance.

The Midwest is “heartland,” meaning white bread. We offer up some of the most aware entertainers and self-effacing interviewers in defense, in the form of Letterman and everyone’s mentor, Johnny Carson.

But there is no acceptance forthcoming. Nothing happens in our sleepy, family oriented communities, or so I gather. The rotting edges along the Atlantic or California coast are, on the other hand, draped in cool—“The Wire,” for example, or teenage camp of “Beverly Hills 90210.”

Imagine a show set in “69162,” where we slosh around in winter months and complain about drought the rest of the year.

OK—they have us there.

Which brings us to yet another instance: this is an election year. The politicians clicking through this office hoping to win state or national office agree on one thing … well, they tend to agree on the Affordable Care Act, the Keystone XL Pipeline, taxes and a few other issues, but in broader terms they agree on one thing.

In the Midwest, the heartland, the flyover states, we may call ourselves Democrat or Republican, but we respect results. I grew up in a Republican farming region of Illinois. When after several terms in office, the duly elected conservative failed to bring locals the advantages they considered obvious, the voters jumped ship and sent a Democratic lawyer to Washington.

They hadn’t abandoned principles, mind you. They acted as a rational, pragmatic electorate, capable of ditching one of their own label in favor of a rival who might just act in their best interest.

So, yes—we “get” Colbert. We don’t care about the color, creed or party or a politician. We are not caricatures meant to distract the east and west from their own shortcomings.

Oh, yeah, there are grumpy old white guys, as well as the evil incarnate in the Westboro Baptist Church. But that hardly makes the Midwest different than the east, west, south or north.  So when will the rest of the country learn?