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| Jeremy Ball Class of 2017 |
This past summer I was given the amazing opportunity to
spend my summer at the University of Louisville serving as a Student
Orientation leader. While I wasn’t back home in Manchester, Kentucky I was
blatantly reminded of my hometown, during an orientation session, when
scrolling through social media during a break. It was then I saw a New York Times article appear on my
Facebook timeline. Its headline: “What’s The Matter With Eastern Kentucky” gave
me a strong sense as to where this article would be
heading… yet another piece drawing national attention to the status of
Appalachia in a predominantly negative way. Using several quality of life determinants (including: educational
attainment, household income, jobless rate, disability rate, life expectancy
and obesity rate) the article sought to rate the counties in the United States
on their quality of life. My initial reaction to the article’s title left a
sour taste in my mouth, and upon reading the article the taste only grew fouler
when I realized my hometown was the central focus of the article.
The third paragraph of the article began: “Clay County, in
dead last [in quality of life], might as well be in a different country.” As
someone who has lived in Clay County my entire life and is a proud graduate of
Clay County High School, such an outlandish statement puzzled me. I cannot deny
the statistics brought forth in the article, and to be honest, they are quite
bad. However, I don’t feel the need to reiterate the data that seemingly
“proves” that Clay County is the most “unlivable” place in America, as I can
say from personal experience that the basic metrics the New York Times used do not adequately measure what life is actually
like in Clay County; there are more than six factors that determine quality of
life. For one, the people of Clay County have a strong sense of place in our
home. You can often trace your family back generations and see they once lived
on the same land you reside. You’ll see what seems half the county out for a
Friday night football game or basketball game. You know the owners and managers
of almost every store or restaurant in the county, and can strike up a
conversation with almost anyone. It’s a very tight-knit place that values
community and family above all else. As a sophomore at the University of
Louisville I can give credit to Clay County High School for adequately
preparing me to be competitive in scholarship and academia. This article
perpetuates the ignorant stereotype that makes individuals like myself roll my
eyes.
Yes, it’s true that we are not economically vibrant, and in
many facets we absolutely do need help. However, the national media will
seemingly never paint a positive picture. Simply telling the nation that Clay
County is the most unlivable place in America in no way benefits my home
county. In fact, by leaving out the positive aspects of my community the
article seems to imply that you should stay away from Clay County. One could
ready every word in this very detailed article and still walk away with the
wrong impression of what Appalachia really is like. We are more than the dark
and depressing area that the world sees… we are a part of a beautiful, rich,
and misunderstood culture.
Jeremy Ball is a sophomore McConnell Scholar studying political science and history. He is from Manchester, Ky.