Why Regionalism?

More than most other developed states, Americans are deeply proud of their nation. In fact, polls have found that 84-91% of us are “very” or “extremely” proud to be Americans. 90% claim to “usually feel proud” when they hear the Star Spangled Banner and 74% of 2001 college graduates stated that they “would be willing to fight for my country.”¹ It is undeniable that Americans feel united and proud, especially after the attacks in NYC and Washington in 2001 and this is considered by most to be a “good thing.” However, when our communities and livelihoods are hard-pressed and we truly want to find solutions to our problems, we can sometimes find value in questioning the ideas that we previously believed to be indisputable. It is a fortunate side of living in rusting cities forgotten by the great powers that we are sometimes free to ask questions that those in more prosperous, powerful places would be afraid to; after all, the answer might challenge their comfort, their prosperity.

It was not always this way. When the War of Independence was won, the victorious Patriots viewed themselves primarily as the residents of their state. When asked where they came from, the would answer “Connecticut” or “Virginia” long before “America.” In fact, there were minor wars fought between the states over territory and westerward expansion where armies from New York and New Hampshire fought over Vermont or Pennsylvania and Connecticut fought over the Wyoming Valley (the Pennamite Wars). Even George Washington probably thought of himself as a Virginian. Today, this state identity only survives in strength in places like Texas and Alaska.

The shared “American” identity is sometimes a strange thing. For a moment, let us imagine three hypothetical Americans: the first is a 17-year-old white boy from an old family in Maine who just got his first job in a lobster packing plant and is worried about graduation, prom and the future; the second is a 48-year-old Indian immigrant man who moved to the United States and began a successful software company, he has retired early and built himself a home in Key West where he lives year round; the third is a 35-year-old Navajo woman who lives with her husband and three children on the reservation, raises livestock and does traditional weaving that she sells to tourists. What do these three people have in common? They are Americans is the typical answer, but in reality, while there are similarities they are often outweighed by differences in geography, profession, wealth, ethnicity/race, gender and age. There is no doubt at all that the problems facing each of their communities will be wildly different and may even place them at odds with each other. What would help the young factory worker’s home town might cause devastation if it were implemented in the Navajo community and vice versa.

While difference is inevitable, and beneficial to a community, there comes a point when the variation itself becomes a hindrance. How can a central government in Washington make decisions that effectively answer the problems of irrigation farmers in Idaho, the unemployed in Buffalo and gas station attendants in the Deep South? Inevitably, with so many problems and so many voices, some people get heard more than others and some people are forgotten.

Let me give an example of the inefficiency and clumsiness inherent in over-centralization. I work for Sears department stores in the shoe department. With Christmas and winter upon us, we have gotten many new shipments of shoes and boots for the customers. These shoes, designed in New York City, Chicago (where Sears is headquartered) and other metropolitan centers are often absurd for practical York Staters. We have received shipments of sandals and watershoes (perhaps useful if we were in south Texas) and lily white boots (not the best in a world of salt and snow). The women’s boots of this year almost universally possess preposterously high and narrow heels and lack insulation; often time the soles are completely smooth. When we opened the box of good insulated boots, only 10 pairs were found. “Have these designers ever seen ice?” I have been asked facetiously and my answer is always, with complete honesty, “probably not.” This problem is compounded by the fact that we cannot order boots ourselves or request for certain types, we simply open the shipment every Tuesday and Thursday and see what they’ve brought us.²

Focusing our attentions and identity towards an amorphous centralized Federal government is like relying upon Sears and Roebuck Inc to send the proper shoes for Johnson City. The Federal government, the big corporations and all massive centralized bureaucracies inevitably approach all problems, whether they be nails or broken crystal vases, with the same big hammer. Look at the effects of NAFTA and corporate America upon our cities and towns. How many Upstate cities have been sold out by the very corporations and governments that they had put our trust, money and labor into?

As we attempt to solve Upstate New York’s problems, as long as we think of ourselves and our problems as primarily “American” we will be bound to a tiny number of options promoted by our centralized authorities. However, when we begin to free ourselves from what is an appropriate answer for America and identify ourselves with Upstate New York then we can begin to find new, uniquely Upstate answers.

In addition to an increased ability to flexibly respond to local problems, a regional identity would help to heal many of the psychic wounds that we possess in modern America. We are a rootless people, rarely possessing a sense of “place;” many of us even lack a spot that we can call “home.” How many of our people have no sense of where they are and who they are? How many just want to get away, but are never sure where they want to get to? While a strong regional identity would not solve all of our problems in and of itself, it would provide a solid foundation for communities to grow. As much as it is a physical place, a community is also a state of mind, a shared mental orientation. Look at the vitality of New Orleans, a place with a strong sense of self, in its desire to rebuild and maintain its traditions.

There is some of this in our Upstate cities and places. Buffalo especially is famous for its stalwart pride, forged perhaps by the grind of snow, factory closings and the shared heartbreak of the Bills performance at the Superbowls. Natalie, a Syracuse native, has told me of terrible snowstorms where Syracusians took shelter in their emblematic Carrier Dome to watch Orange play out of town on big screens. How many Rochesterians take a sort of sick pride in the Garbage Plate, Syracusians in Dinosaur Barbeque, Binghamtonians in the Spiedie or Buffalonians in the myriad of local Buffalo food choices?

The possession of a regional identity does not preclude other identities, including an “American” one. For example, when I was living in Spain, I found that the people there had a cascading number of political identities, each important in different spheres and each interlocked like wooden Russian dolls. Their strongest identity was to their extended family, which they protected and promoted ferociously. Spain is a land of infamous nepotism, but unlike America, there it was seen as inevitable and largely benign. The next loyalty was to one’s pueblo, the ancestral village of your family. Even families who now live primarily in the cities still travel home on weekends, vacations, holidays and during important local fiestas. They consider themselves to be of that pueblo, they still often intermarry within those communities and retain those strong local bonds and traditions. The next level is the Patria Chica, the “little fatherland,” which is perhaps the most important political level. This is the region in which one lives, which often has its own language, and is a source of strong identity and is analogous politically to a State in the USA. It is here that the people focus their social, economic and political lives. Above the Patria Chica is the nation-state (Spain), which many people only have a token allegiance to; Spain, they believe is a federation of peoples and is a thing of political convenience.³ Finally, above Spain is the EU and then the UN, both of which are considered to be important parts of their identity. Above many business, the flags of the local city, the Autonomous Community (Patria Chica), the nation of Spain and the European Union flew side by side as equals.

I feel that there is some hope for regional identities in this age of growing centralization. The last time I drove into Vermont, flying on the first house I passed over the border was the flag of the Green Mountain Boys and the symbol of the rapidly growing Vermont Independence Movement. When I drive through Johnson City, I occasionally spot a JC Wildcat flag. Perhaps someday, here in Upstate New York, locals we see no problem in flying the flags of their town, state and nation as equals in their hearts and minds.4

1) These polls are, in order that they are quoted: Anonymous, “National Pride Varies Greatly Across Europe: And its much lower than in the United States, according to New Five-Country Survey;” June 24th, the PRNewswire; “Harris Poll #27: Pride in America, June 12, 2002,” Accessed online at http://www.harrisinteractive.com on 10-3-04; Anonymous; “Proud and Patriotic,” in the Washington Times, July 8, 2004; “Harris Poll #27: Pride in America, June 12, 2002,” Accessed online at http://www.harrisinteractive.com on 10-3-04; Anonymous; “Harris Poll #12: Generation 2001: A survey of the First College Graduating Class of the New Millennium, February 26th, 1998,” Accessed online at http://www.harrisinteractive.com on 10-3-04
2) By the way, if anyone is looking for new boots, we’re located in the Oakdale Mall in Johnson City, and I get a 3-4% commission, so stop by and we’ll find you something you’ll just love.
3) To be fair, I should note that there are some Spaniards, the intellectual descendents of the Fascists, who still see the centralized State as a holy and divinely ordained fact. I, however, rarely saw this side of Spain as I did not live in a pro-Castillian part of the country, but instead in one of the ethnic areas: Catalan-speaking Valencia.
4) I do think that we need to get a cooler state flag though, let’s admit it, the boat on the river with the ladies around it is nice as a seal but it’s really not a good flag, but I think that’s a topic for a later discussion.