Critical Conversations: Human Rights Are Global Rights: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Reengaging the Heartland

Overview: The poster would present an overview of rural communities, their traditionalism and political conservvatism will be explained. some of the rural myths that block outside help will be discussed. Langauge will be suggested for new narrativies on diversity, economic, and environmental justice that will facilitate positive change for rural areas.Proposal text: Social and political events of the last few years have taught us we live in a polarized environment in which authoritarian populism has arisen (DeWitt, Roman-Alcala, Liebman & Christman, 2019). This has led to growing mistrust of the government and has been fueled by concerns about loss of social and economic standing resulting insupport for candidates with anti-government rhetoric and attempt suppressession of democratic institutions like restricting the ability to vote. Rural Americans are one group are receptive to this type of populism, and their influence was felt in popular elections and in social policy.
Rural American are a substantial minority, representing 19 percent of the population (Daley, 2021). Their support for policies adverse to their own self-interests and stereotypes of them as angry, white and poorly educated puzzles the liberal minded who are urban. Stereotypes can be misleading and if maintained can block understanding and communication to bridge these gaps and develop social policies which benefit all people. Political conservatives have driven the populist narrative to further their agenda by fanning rural concern about loss of jobs and income, infrastructure decay, and corporitization of the economy. This is a very different populism than in the 1930s with a focus on better roads, electrificaiton of communities, water and sewer improvement, and safety nets like Social Security were created and benefitted rural people.
The premise of this poster is that better communication with rural people around critical conversations in the Heartland to addres the highly divisive issues of diversity, equity, and environmental justice can be approached in a productive way to help those most vulnerable. The poster will identify divisive language, suggesting reframing issues new narratives for policies and services benefitting rural citizens can be supported by rural residents.
The poster will outline myths about rural people that need to be debunked in order to facilitate communication. Rural diversity will be highlighted and rural traditionalism and anti government bias will be explained.
Examples of charged language that can cut off critical conversations will also be presented. This includes terms like green energy, which rural people tend to equate with the loss of jobs since energy production is a major source of income. Income support and health insurance programs tend to be equated with promoting idleness, an anathema to the self-reliant and industrious nature of people in small communities. Permissive immigration policies are perceived as a threat to local jobs as immigrants are seen as unfairly competing for those positions. Rural people tend to support a sustainable environment and economic development, yet urban based policies to address these issues often fail to consider the effects on small communities – hence the resistance to change.
It is hope that the information provided in this poster can help social workers begin to change the conversation with rural people toward a more positive view of social and economic policies by involving rural people in the critical discussions through reframing the issues.