Originally Posted by catzmeow

I grew up rural, southern baptist, heterosexual, white, midwestern (on the southern edge of the midwest) with a dad who owned multiple guns and hunted regularly. The problem I have with Mr. Heston's comments here isn't that I believe that perspective is less important than any other perspective.

The problem I have is that sometimes, the adherents of this perspective think their voices are the only ones that matter.

My parents are conservative, but for the most part, they aren't narrow. When my dad sent me off to college, and other girls were being told to pick a field that would allow them to support their husband's career, my dad told me to learn to take care of myself. He told me that with an education, I could be anyone I wanted to be, and he wanted that for me. A few years ago, I was surprised when he told me he'd be perfectly happy to attend a church with a female pastor, that he'd never understood the need some folks had to keep women in their place. At 42, I realize how lucky I was to grow up with him in my life.

I think my dad is one of the smartest men on the planet. But, he is not disrespectful. He will always give someone else a chance to speak, because he wants to hear what they have to say. He told me once to always listen to what someone else is saying because no matter who they are or what status they have in life, I can learn something from them.

I don't think my dad has ever believed that there is a culture war happening in the U.S. I wonder why he is so different from so many other white men who seem so angry, when he came from virtually the same place. My dad grew up almost penniless in the rural ozark mountains. He was drafted into the Navy and did two years on a ship. He put himself through trade school and made a living with his hands in a blue collar job. He made educating his own children a priority. I've never seen him get all hot and bothered about politics. I wonder why my dad always seems so calm and rational, and other men from his background walk around frothing and seething all the time.

I guess part of it is that seeing someone else succeed never made my dad feel angry. It just spurred him to work harder and be better. i've never once seen him blame other people for his problems, or express resentment towards another class of people (race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, etc.). He just lives his life at peace for the most part.