I frequently get asked how I can live in such an “isolated” area with people who are so “uninformed” by people who have known me since I was little or who went to college with me. Well… here’s my answer.

1. This isn’t necessarily an isolated area. The part of Montana where I live is really rural but… we do have the Internet and our DSL is better than the DSL where my in-laws live in southern California. I might have to drive 20-25 miles to go grocery shopping and do my banking but it’s not like I’m the only one who has to. People have lived out here for a long time and they’ve adapted to living in remote locations. In addition, we’re all pretty close out here because we have to be — if I didn’t know the people around me well, I’d have problems.
2. People are not “uninformed” just because they don’t happen to know about some of the things going on in the world. A lot of the people here may know more about grain prices than they do about the situation going on in Darfur but… it has to do with the fact that grain prices determine whether they have money for food and shelter than it does with simple ignorance. The War in Iraq affects us in that oil prices are insane (which is a pain for those of us who have to commute distances to do simple errands) but the genocide in Darfur simply isn’t something that affects most people here. It’s one of those times where me (as the pastor’s wife) being concerned about something involves letting people know what it means to them in their daily lives and sometimes the things that affect people in L.A. (like immigration) aren’t things that affect people in Montana.
3. People are not evil because they watch FOX News. As much as I kvetch about how evil Fox News is, it’s the preferred news network up here because most everyone is conservative and FOX shares some of their same values. Instead of kvetching about how evil O’Reilly is, I instead have to show people the other side of the coin, which involves me knowing when it’s appropriate to bring something up vs. when I should really keep my mouth shut. People have every right to vote as they please so I don’t go on about how EVIL the Republicans are, especially if the Republicans do better things for the people up here than the Democrats do.
4. There are times when it’s better to just keep my mouth shut instead of speaking up about an issue. This muchly applies to the War in Iraq because we have a large number of vets up here as well as people who have loved ones over in Iraq. I might do things like wear my “We will not be silent” shirt under a sweatshirt on Veteran’s Day or Memorial Day as a silent protest because that way, I can protest something I think is wrong while at the same time refraining from making someone feel like I’m dishonoring the sacrifice that they or someone in their family made.
5. You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. There are times when I need to call someone on something but I need to do it tactfully. After all, this is a small community and I have to live with these people. For example, gossip is a necessary evil here (it’s a way people take care of each other) but… I can choose what I listen to. There will be times when I’ll excuse myself from a conversation because it isn’t something I should be listening to or I’ll just say, “sorry… I shouldn’t be hearing this.” It’s a kind of quiet way of demonstrating that what’s being said isn’t appropriate for me to hear and it doesn’t embarass the person speaking.

I’m writing this based on an experience I had today that has gotten me thinking about all of this.