Eastern Kentucky Has Been Underwater, but You
Probably Didn’t Notice
Silas House notes:
“This story of our lost connection to nature and the way
it affects rural people is not a new one. From the moment Europeans arrived in
America, they tried to tame the natural world. Once deposits of natural
resources were discovered, perpetuating the idea of wild places and the people
who lived there as “other” behooved big industry. Media only exacerbated the
portrayal of rural people as stupid, lazy, filthy, and worthless. Throwaway
people living in a throwaway place. Americans claim to love the natural world, but
we often negate the people who live closest to it. Insulting phrases like the middle
of nowhere and flyover country are common parlance in everyday
conversations and newscasts".