People All Across Rural America are Uniting Against Extremists

Two recent headlines in The Seattle Times grabbed my attention, but both only tell part of the story about rural America. One was, “A rural Washington school board race shows how far-right extremists are shifting to local power,” the other, “ ‘The brand is so toxic’: Dems fear extinction in rural U.S.”

It is true the far right has built significant electoral infrastructure in rural America, including rural Washington. The anti-government, anti-masking/vaccines, anti-woke mob messaging is part of a well-funded national strategy to divide our communities and motivate the conservative base. In the absence of a cohesive, convincing counter narrative and investment from Democrats and progressives, these efforts have seen some success.

People who don’t live in rural places — often fed by national media — have the impression that most rural people are old, white and conservative. But the reality is our communities are rapidly changing demographically. Diversity accelerated in rural America, with racial and ethnic minorities accounting for 83% of rural population growth between 2000 and 2010, according to the Carsey School of Public Policy. Nationally, 86% of counties with persistent poverty are rural.

I understand the disconnect. After 26 years away, I returned 14 years ago to my hometown in rural Washington two hours south of Seattle. I have personally experienced the bullying of the Proud Boys and other far-right extremists. Yet I have also seen in my community, and other communities across the country, rural leaders and advocates working together to get beyond partisan politics to rebuild our communities. We bring a depth of understanding to the perception vs. reality disconnect. We have the shared experience of witnessing our once thriving and strong communities decline after decades of job loss, corporate takeovers and lack of investment in basic infrastructure like high-speed internet, education, health care and housing. We have experienced the immeasurable hardship of generational poverty, the loss of friends and neighbors to the diseases of despair, and watched our children move away and not return due to lack of opportunity.

But we have hope. In my hometown we have moved from a hard-right, majority-male city council to a progressive majority-female council in just two elections. We are not alone. Across the state and nation homegrown progressives have found a winning formula: Focusing on the shared values of hard work, love of family and community; bringing people together to solve problems; creating a forward-looking 21st-century economy; and demanding an efficient government that works for all of us.

These victories are not part of a big national or statewide strategy — although they should be — but the result of good people coming together to fight for their communities and working to bridge political divides to do what is right. What is missing from these news stories and the flawed national narrative is the crucial context that people all across rural Washington and rural America are coming together to stand up to the far-right extremists.

Political division is a cancer that will destroy the fabric of our democracy if left unchecked. As rural Americans we have to find a way to get along with people with whom we disagree — because they are our family, our neighbors and friends, go to the same church, shop at the same stores.

It’s time to find solutions to our common challenges, focus on shared values, and get beyond deeply partisan ideologies.

It’s time to ensure that we have a government, economy and democracy that is working for all of us.