Love this post Joey! 5 yrs ago we moved to Cleveland, OH and recently we moved back to the west coast. In our time there we got a front row seat to the same phenomenon that you have outlined with JD Vance, in many ways he is representative of what is happening in Ohio and across the Midwest.
Love this post Joey! 5 yrs ago we moved to Cleveland, OH and recently we moved back to the west coast. In our time there we got a front row seat to the same phenomenon that you have outlined with JD Vance, in many ways he is representative of what is happening in Ohio and across the Midwest.
At a local level our charming Midwest town (Hudson, Ohio) went from family oriented and welcoming small town to being a hotbed of racism, radicalized political ads, and making national headlines for book banning, an unhinged mayor and a city council that was taken over by extremists with an agenda.
One thing you mention in your article is often undervalued- the people of Ohio have endured a lot of loss and trauma over the last few generations. Industry losses, job losses, government corruption and a lot of broken promises. Many are skeptical of government and they cling to traditional institutions like churches and legions where they seek out their people.
IMO JD Vance has adopted the same unethical tactics that our local Ohio city council did -> win at any cost… and I mean any cost - lie, cheat, manipulate, threaten, intimidate, promise and whatever means necessary to be in control.
How do we get out of this place? Many opinions on that but I don’t believe we will evolve from here until there are hard consequences for those elected officials who break the law. More, “we the people” need to start electing people who truly will represent all of us, and bring us closer together around common goals.
Love this post Joey! 5 yrs ago we moved to Cleveland, OH and recently we moved back to the west coast. In our time there we got a front row seat to the same phenomenon that you have outlined with JD Vance, in many ways he is representative of what is happening in Ohio and across the Midwest.
At a local level our charming Midwest town (Hudson, Ohio) went from family oriented and welcoming small town to being a hotbed of racism, radicalized political ads, and making national headlines for book banning, an unhinged mayor and a city council that was taken over by extremists with an agenda.
One thing you mention in your article is often undervalued- the people of Ohio have endured a lot of loss and trauma over the last few generations. Industry losses, job losses, government corruption and a lot of broken promises. Many are skeptical of government and they cling to traditional institutions like churches and legions where they seek out their people.
IMO JD Vance has adopted the same unethical tactics that our local Ohio city council did -> win at any cost… and I mean any cost - lie, cheat, manipulate, threaten, intimidate, promise and whatever means necessary to be in control.
How do we get out of this place? Many opinions on that but I don’t believe we will evolve from here until there are hard consequences for those elected officials who break the law. More, “we the people” need to start electing people who truly will represent all of us, and bring us closer together around common goals.