Culture

Culture … do I have any? Culture is a name for the shared values and behaviors of a group of people. People in a small town share values and behaviors that would in their environment, that allow them to function, live together, and honor or hide their past. In the city, the same is true. But what works in one place will not work in another. I have lived in 7 different towns and found that the culture in each is noticeably different.

In Holly and Lamar, Colorado, the very noticeable feature of the culture is the obsession with rain. Those communities are dependent on dry land wheat farming to maintain their economy. They are farming in an area that receives very little rain. Therefore, the fixation of most people is on how much rain has fallen in the last month – usually measured in a fraction of an inch because it seldom rains an entire inch in one month. They get very excited when they receive 1/10th of an inch of rain in an evening. Another part of the culture is the focus on beef at the dinner table. The area also raises cattle and as a result, most families serve beef as the main course of every meal. There are occasional chicken dishes (usually fried chicken), but the ratio is around 6:1 in favor of beef.

In Pueblo, Colorado, the focus was on steel production, consumption, importation. In the late 1970’s the city’s economy was largely based on the steel mill in the middle of the old part of town. It provided the major source of jobs and union-level incomes. The steel mill also perfumed the entire city with a stench of sulfur mixed with metal. On good days the wind would blow the smell away from the city. On bad days, the smell would drift lazily over the entire city giving everyone a sour nose and face. Stories were told of workers who showed up at the steel plant driving a Japanese car (usually a Honda). By the end of the day, the car was vandalized because it represented a threat to the consumption of American steel production.

Lubbock, Texas, is known by the old song “happiness is Lubbock, Texas in your rear-view mirror”. The town has very little to boast about in terms of history or economic power. It is home to Texas Tech University and is surrounded by cotton fields. Lubbock sustains a strong vein of Texas Pride. There is great meaning in being from Texas, in Texas, part of Texas, and just Texan in general. Cowboy boots, Wrangler jeans (no other brand), Justin boots, Stetson hats, and large rodeo belt buckles are the height of fashion at any social occasion.

In Fort Worth, Texas, there is a preoccupation with maintaining the image of a cowboy town. They wanted to make sure that they were not confused with nearby Dallas. They had no intention of being seen as a small version of that metroplex, so they cultivated the cowboy culture to the point of nicknaming themselves Cowtown. Many of the city’s events were called the Cowtown Classic Bicycle Race, Cowtown Rodeo, etc. The cultural center of the city was in the old Stockyards where Bill Bob’s Bar was a famous spot to be visited by all locals and tourists.

Manassas, Virginia is the home of the Civil War’s First and Second Battles of Manassas. In the North these are better known as the Battles of Bull Run. The South named battles by the cities they were fought near. The North named them by geographic feature like rivers and hills. Tales are told of the citizens of Manassas taking picnic lunches to the tops of near-by hills to watch the battles from a safe distance. Like much of Virginia, Manassas is very focused on history – as long as that history happened during the Civil War and features a prominent role for the South. The area is also dominated with government contracting, largely defense. This dovetails nicely with their interest in the Civil War. Attending the Reenactment at Haystack, VA is a “must do” event in the area.

In Orlando, Florida you must take a stand on two issues. First, whether you are for the UF Gators or the FSU Seminoles. This will influence your social circles and the places you are allowed to watch football on the big screen. Second, you have to love Disney or ignore it (but you are not allowed to hate it). Orlando is the second or third most popular vacation spot in the world – surpassed only by Rome and Mecca. The other two are the centers of major world religions, which must make Orlando the center of the American Happiness religion. The economy is diverse, but largely focused on tourism that is here to see Disney World. There are certainly other attractions, but these are what you fit into your major 4-day trip to Disney parks. Universal, Sea World, a number of water parks, nearby beaches, Citywalk, Downtown Disney, Pleasure Island, Cirque du Solei, and several others collect the dropping from the Disney table. There are also a few thousand hotels and restaurants that rest and feed the hordes headed into Disney.

Behind the one or two major features of each city listed are hundreds of more subtle behaviors that are linked to these or that play a symbiotic role. But, each city has its own unique culture. Most Americans (except New Yorkers) can adapt to these cultures and find ways to fit in and function effectively. One of the defining features of America itself is its willingness to adopt and adapt. We are a mobile culture so we are an accepting culture … except for New Yorkers.