I should probably buckle down and read Dixie Rising, which seems to be a pretty interesting book. If only because it struck me as a political artifact of the pre-9/11 political writing in America. That stuff that wanted to drag the new Republicanism against the New Leftism, Clinton vs. Gingrich, that kind of stuff that crescendoed with Bush v. Gore, but seems so out of place today.
Anyway, the book (from what I can tell from skimming it a half dozen times) picks apart Southernism and looks at how it was infecting the U.S. back in the mid-90s. To get what I’m getting at, this survey of the book seems like a decent enough look.
Of course, in Dixie Rising, the author uses locations to illustrate his larger regional and national points, so I’ll try to do the same thing here.
1. South Lake Union and the Big Sort
This is the cutting edge of the technological wave that has crested and crashed along the west coast for years. New cancer research, new tech centers deep in urban Seattle bring yet again another wave of tech immigrants to Cascadia. This isn’t just a new decade, new well-educated immigrant rush to our region, this is the next wave of the Big Sort. The Big Sort has been the defining political and demographic trend in the last 50 years and its razors edge right now is South Lake Union in Seattle.
2. Crescent City and the Nones
Crescent City isn’t the least religious community in the United States. That award goes to Seneca Falls, NY (According to the 2010 US Religion Census. But, this small city on the far southern edge of Cascadia, isolated against the Pacific is the least religious community in the least religious part of the country. The Cascadians have never had much need for religion, and this trend is starting to creep across America.
3. Grants Pass and Scientific Denialism
Ugh. This is literally a dumb trend that I wish would go away. But, anti-vaccination activists are at a high tide in Grants Pass. But, it is more than anti-vaccine. It is an anti-science thing, anti-authority is more like it. From this one place, we can look at how science, government and authority is challenged in Cascadia.
4. Portland and the Sport of the Internet
As a passionate Sounders fan, I hate to highlight the Portscum Timbers in any way. But, for this narrative, I’ll have you know I am nothing but fair. But, the Sport of the Internet must be highlighted. From what is literally the third level of hell, we can see how American soccer fans found each other before old style media even took the sport seriously. That nowadays it isn’t about the media letting you know something is good, its about you knowing something is good and finding other people who think the same way.
5. Olympia and the DIY Platinum Record
DIY culture is a massive part of what makes Olympia itself to most people who don’t live here. Ben Haggerty is from Seattle, but he went to school at Evergreen. Likewise, for Kurt Cobain, I’d argue Olympia was much more important than Seattle. So, much like soccer making itself big and religion making itself small. Culture in Olympia and Cascadia finds itself, and sometimes doesn’t do shit. Other times it spawns The Heist.
Nice post, Emmett. I sorted myself up here from Dixie to live in a better climate, physically and politically. This winter's low snow pack aside, Cascadia will continue to lure growing numbers of climate refugees with visions of rain forests. "Olympic Peninsula and Climate" might capture both that and local sentiment that greeners came in and locked up the forest.