Search Results: moving on

I have lived in Tennessee most of my life. The scenery is great and the state is geographically beautiful. Speaking of the people here, the quality of life, and society's mode of operandi... well... there are challenges depending on who you are.

If you are in good health; are able to reasonably navigate the Good ol' Boy system well; and have stability, connections, status, wealth, a strong personality, or a solid combination of these, you will likely live well here and perhaps thrive.

If you, however, have complex health issues that are atypical and unresponsive to common, first-line approaches; are ever experiencing a sudden medical emergency; have moderate-to-severe mental and emotional defects; are disabled; struggle socially; or have had any legal troubles besides maybe an underage drinking conviction... you may be in for a very rough ride here in Tennessee.

People here are often very opinionated, take offense to any criticism of the state, cliquey, stubborn, and harsh.

The EMS systems here are weak, the state ranks high in hospital closures, the mental health system is very broken, and there are minimal resources available to people who are both poor and defective. People are moving here to our state to take advantage of our lower cost of living, yet our infrastructure continues to crumble and is unable to adapt. We rank the highest for depression, especially around the Knoxville Area and northeast TN.

What gave you the upper hand were the Age of Exploration and the geographical discoveries. Before that, Turks dominated much of Eurasia. Extremely brave yet barbaric pirates discovered the American continent; the natives were devastated by diseases, and the survivors were forced to work under brutal conditions until they died. Then you turned your eyes toward Africa, exploited its underground resources, and imported countless slaves. India was not enough — you even brought the mighty Chinese Empire to its knees. In the lands you conquered, you gave places names like New Zealand, New York, New Hampshire, and New Jersey, as if the whole world revolved around England.

At the same time, you built the Enlightenment, positive science, and so-called universal values. You carried out the Industrial Revolution; production and technology revolved around you. The birth of capitalism was your creation, and modernization came to be seen as synonymous with Westernization. Your ideologies ending in “-ism” shape the lives of people all around the world, and I am writing this damned text in your language.

But in a dynamic world, the sun is no longer moving from east to west across the Atlantic — it is shifting toward the Pacific, and the Chinese are beginning to take your place.

Anyway, back to the point: yes, are you proud of it?