“Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Jeremiah 29:7
One of the least discussed plights facing our culture today has gone unnoticed – the neglect of place.
When the location where you live feels forgotten, all sorts of unfortunate issues arise. The people by extension likewise feel overlooked. The economic base fades. The third places (social settings beyond home and work/school) vanish. Hope disappears and despair fills the voids. Boarded-up buildings and despair often set the stage for the fiercest political movements of both the left and right.
Setting aside politics for a second, it’s important to note that this very dynamic is what J.D. Vance wrote in his bestseller Hillbilly Elegy. Despite its focus predominantly on the issues plaguing Middletown, Ohio, the implication was that his experiences in this one town were representative of the experiences of wide swaths of the population.
The shift of industry to other countries, while arguably being a net economic benefit to the country on the whole, left in its wake many towns with no more economic opportunity, and a host of issues gave rise. Issues that he and his family had to contend with and that many readers could relate to.
This book came out before Vance’s move to politics, and was actually well received early on by those on both sides of the political aisle for explaining the undercurrents that gave rise to Trump’s initial election.
But I think this exact issue can also be observed in communities that tend to vote for Democrats as well. It’s hard for me not to hear the voices of many in poor parts of cities and other urbanized areas that likewise feel unseen and experience many of the same hardships, even if they manifest in slightly different ways.
And I actually think there’s more held in common for this exact reason than many are willing to admit. That maybe these current political movements share a similar root cause of forgotten places.
Accidental Community Destruction
Domicide, the destruction of communities and homes is sometimes intentionally done. War, genocide, exile… It can be purposefully used as punishment.
But it doesn’t always take that form. The loss of home, whether deliberate or by accident still hurts. And it’s the latter, where sometimes other priorities outweighed that of preserving communities, that most often goes unnoticed.
That’s why I found it so fascinating that a kids’ movie would provide one of the best artistic expressions of this very phenomenon.
That scene in the movie Cars showed how the construction of the highway, while more efficient for travel than the prior road network, had essentially starved the little town of Radiator Springs of all traffic. The once lively and bustling town was now a withered shell of its former self.
Was anything done maliciously to hurt the residents of Radiator Springs? No, this was a cost that came with the construction of the highway. As is the case with most new technologies or societal changes, there are those who benefit and those who don’t. That’s not to say this is necessarily a zero-sum game. Nor is it always abundantly clear beforehand who the winners and losers will be.
But as is always the case, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
How many towns feel the same today? We’re surrounded by many. For every success story like Bethlehem and Easton’s revivals over the past couple of decades (largely due to proximity to major highways and other cities), there are probably hundreds in Appalachia alone that are still dying. Why is that?
Modern Society’s Devaluing of Place
Modern society struggles with this in a few respects. Many ways that prior generations and cultures did not. Here are a few I’ve noticed.
Technology and prosperity have made it more possible than ever to travel, relocate, or simply choose to isolate. And so while past generations to some degree were “forced” to remain a part of their community, today it is far easier to choose one’s own path, which despite having some appealing and even good elements, also carries the risk of isolation. The end result though is that permanence and consistency are far less common today.
Second, success for many young adults is framed as leaving as opposed to staying. Leaving to go to college. Leaving to go to more urbanized areas where pay is typically better. When these students do not return to their hometowns we are depriving these smaller communities of those who could have been doctors, teachers, and active participants in their communities. Staying is rarely celebrated. It’s hard to see how all the shuffling we have done of young adults has not played some role in the social upheaval we observe.
And while I tend to lean libertarian myself, I have to admit that markets can be a source of instability for communities. Does that mean markets should be abandoned? I’m certainly not of that opinion. But we have to recognize the trade offs that come with them, and some of those trade offs can be the undermining of towns.
And while there are many more issues that could be listed, one more I think that’s worth noting is not necessarily an issue isolated to modern culture. It’s one that I believe has been fairly universal throughout human history. That class divisions very often coincide with locale and are so so difficult to overcome.
Lightning McQueen and Mater
It’s part of what makes Cars such a great story. The celebrity race car is forced to condescend and live alongside cars very different from himself. This is made most apparent through the character of Mater, a highbilly pickup truck who is from a completely different social setting. It is by Lightning McQueen’s active care for the town of Radiator Springs that he finds a far better life. And Radiator Springs is the place that facilitates the character development.
Having a stable community and home matters. And while Radiator Springs was able to be revived by Lightning McQueen’s mere presence, the model of using celebrities or being blessed by the proximity of major highways aren’t sustainable answers for the vast majority of our towns and cities.
That’s why the verse from Jeremiah is so moving. He’s directing a people who have just been taken into exile to care for the city they now live in. They aren’t in Jerusalem anymore. They have been scattered from their homeland by the Babylonians. And yet, Jeremiah encourages them to seek the prosperity of the city to which God has carried them.
So what does that mean for us? To seek the prosperity of the communities we live within will require making some sacrifices of time, money and effort to get connected. Possibly choosing to stay at a job longer and resisting the urge to optimize our personal resume and pay to allow deep roots to form. Choosing to be around other people who may be difficult to connect with instead of taking the “easier” route of isolating. And maybe deciding to take the longer trip on the backroads to pay a visit to those overlooked communities, both literally and figuratively.
For by doing this I think we can all follow a similar character arc to that of Lightning McQueen. A broadening of our perspective to see beyond our own personal endeavors and the potential blessing that can be brought to those around us. Hopefully similar revivals to the places we call home, much like we saw with Radiator Springs.
For they don’t revive by themselves. They are saved by those who stay, even when it’s difficult, and care for them.
Upon Reflection 