Midwest Nice or Midwest Wise?
Have circumstances forced us to become wise?
According to dictionary.com, “Midwest nice refers to the characteristic politeness, friendliness, and hospitality … associated with people from the Midwestern United States. It describes a behavior where individuals go out of their way to be helpful, accommodating, and kind, even in situations where they may not agree or feel entirely comfortable”.
For years, many people used this characteristic politeness to control us. They “knew” they could count on us to welcome both reasonable and crazy ideas without much resistance as long as those ideas were packaged in a “positive wrapper” .
The “positive wrapper” approach worked until around 2020, when things became so illogical we had to notice. It’s as if a light switched. We realized being hospitable and friendly is one thing, but refusing to speak out about things that might not be in the best interest of our families, our communities, and our state was another matter.
Once we noticed that people were taking advantage of us, we came to life quickly. We put on our stern face and began to take action. We formed teams and tackled problems with gusto. We took on (are taking on) big money, lobbyists, cronyism, and corruption. We are standing up for property rights, demanding higher quality schooling and transparent elections, asking why we are employing foreigners over citizens, and making it harder for out of state entities to control our state.
So maybe we need a new term, Midwest Wise. We are still nice, but we are also wise enough to research, read between the lines, and unify when necessary.
I’m a recent (4yrs) transplant to SD from Colorado. So I’m wise to why I left Colorado and why I came here. I came for the nice. For sanity. And for the most part sanity still prevails. And nicety. But I think Dakotans are wising up to the potential hazards and starting to put up a few roadblocks to the rampant lunacy gripping much of the rest of America. So we’ll be ok. We’re nice. But stubbornly, steadfastly committed to a sense of community and of decency that makes this a good place to live. And we won’t compromise.
During Covid I met a lot of freedom minded people, speaking out against the mandates, whether down at Sanford holding signs, or in meetings planning strategy. One disappointment is the Governor's insistence that nothing could be done to grant exemptions to the Covid 💉 for all the medical folks that would never take it, especially when other States ( Florida for example) led the way by granting exemptions. Made no sense. Still doesn't. Another 'no more Mr./Mrs. Nice' guy turn-of-events is SB 201, the green energy scam bill that lost in both chambers last year and referred to the People and was, thankfully, voted down. The people prevailed on this property rights and local control issue. This and the November election was another clear message that the people are waking up a bit, but we have a long way to go! Another issue is a few Legislators in Pierre of despicable behavior of mocking and lying about other legislators, and even banning them from Committees and voting on the floor. This has to improve, too. Just a few thoughts.