Small-Towners
They see themselves as decent, God-fearing, upright,
and law-abiding people who enjoy the simple life in
small towns across the USA—towns small enough so
that everyone knows everything about everyone else.
Many like to brag that they graduated from the college
of hard knocks, and have common sense all too often
lacking in the educated idiots with college degrees
and delusions of superior intelligence and demeanor.
Most tout Republican values of responsibility, hard
work, and self-reliance, but they do not shy away from
government welfare checks, food stamps, and other
entitlements introduced and defended by Democrats.
Many express contempt for homosexuals; Jews they
often refer to as kikes or Christ-killers; Muslims;
black people they refer to as niggers; communists;
and foreigners of all sizes, shapes, and colors.
They take pride in their offsprings who graduate from
high school, and some take additional pride in the ones
who continue their education, preferably at colleges
where Christian-centered education still thrives.
All the while, they pray that their offsprings will marry
and settle down in their respective small towns, attend
church every Sunday, and breed the next generation
of small-towners who will keep their legacy alive.
Copyright © 2023 Frank Zahn. Published in The Criterion: An
International Journal in English, Volume 14, Issue II, April 2023,
pp. 404-05 - https://www.the-criterion.com/V14/n2/Zahn.pdf.