My dear brother in the Lord, Mark Davis, sent one of the best posts I've ever received to any blog entry. In response to defining a redneck, Mark puts it wonderfully-
I prefer the Foxworthy definition of redneck: [anyone possessing] a glorious lack of sophistication. That opens up any pre-conceived geographical limitations, recognizing that rednecks are common from Bakersfield to Buffalo.Growing up in Alabama, we understood redneck to be just another name for anyone rural, rustic, working outdoors. Working outdoors tends to leave the back of a man's neck a dark reddish-brown, hence, a redneck.A lack of sophistication isn't the same as a lack of intelligence, as many falsely assume. If anything, being a redneck is all about freedom: freedom from creative limits, freedom from shame, freedom from man-pleasing, freedom from social climbing, freedom from status obsession. It isn't just anybody who can make the hard decisions in life with such clarity. Want to live on 40 acres with a pond and pasture? Can't afford to build a house on it? Back up a double-wide, take the wheels off, and you're on the country side before noon. Want something fun to drive, but don't have the coin for a Corvette? Slap a cam and a roots blower on a smallblock, and stick it in anything with good tires and clean seats. If the hood won't fit anymore, just lean it against the shed next to your spare windshield. You might need it later, if your wife wants her car back.Rednecks have a lot to teach us in fancy-go-to-meeting suburbia. Live like you're dying, drive it like a rental, think big, live small, and for goodness sake, when you hear Sweet Home Alabama, TURN IT UP!
I prefer the Foxworthy definition of redneck: [anyone possessing] a glorious lack of sophistication. That opens up any pre-conceived geographical limitations, recognizing that rednecks are common from Bakersfield to Buffalo.Growing up in Alabama, we understood redneck to be just another name for anyone rural, rustic, working outdoors. Working outdoors tends to leave the back of a man's neck a dark reddish-brown, hence, a redneck.A lack of sophistication isn't the same as a lack of intelligence, as many falsely assume. If anything, being a redneck is all about freedom: freedom from creative limits, freedom from shame, freedom from man-pleasing, freedom from social climbing, freedom from status obsession. It isn't just anybody who can make the hard decisions in life with such clarity. Want to live on 40 acres with a pond and pasture? Can't afford to build a house on it? Back up a double-wide, take the wheels off, and you're on the country side before noon. Want something fun to drive, but don't have the coin for a Corvette? Slap a cam and a roots blower on a smallblock, and stick it in anything with good tires and clean seats. If the hood won't fit anymore, just lean it against the shed next to your spare windshield. You might need it later, if your wife wants her car back.Rednecks have a lot to teach us in fancy-go-to-meeting suburbia. Live like you're dying, drive it like a rental, think big, live small, and for goodness sake, when you hear Sweet Home Alabama, TURN IT UP!
2 comments:
How can one re-respond to such brilliance? One thing for sure, when a New Yorker and a miss-placed Okie’ sees a real live redneck at their best, it is indeed tempting to dabble in creative imaginations and wonder about the reality of sharing a month or two of this kind of care-free lifestyle!
I miss seeing Mark.
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