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Eastern Kentucky and, by extension, the greater area of Appalachia are known for a variety of characteristics, like a strong sense of community and a unique culture, that make them notable regions of the state of Kentucky and the nation as a whole, respectively. From the lasting impact of coal to the truly American culture to a sense of community unmatched in other regions, Eastern Kentucky has always had an impression on the rest of Kentucky, and the beauty of the region shines brightest in the people who call it home. My experience, being from the Pike and Floyd county areas, has had a huge influence on my life. The values held by my Appalachian community taught me to cherish and help the people around me. Through the times of hardship, like COVID and the flooding crisis of early 2025, and even in the moments of celebration, the one thing that’s been emphasized has been perseverance and community.
However, there are a few caveats to being raised in rural Appalachia. One of those is the limited exposure to different ways of life. Complemented by being comfortably nestled in the Bible belt, where a majority of people identify as Baptists, Appalachia has a huge focus on
tradition and traditional values, often being stereotyped by a myth based in truth that the region
is unchanging. This heavy emphasis on tradition and resistance to change often results in people
of similar caliber, or in other words, strong-willed individuals who aren’t fond of being told to
change how they think and believe. When Appalachians are introduced to a way of life different
from theirs, they often struggle to accept it, and some try to pretend it doesn’t exist. All of this is
to say that my exposure to new perspectives through academic escapades and moving to
Louisville helped me encounter things Appalachia, in its limited diversity, had failed to teach me
about. It is this combination of upbringing and new experiences that granted me insight into an
ability that I feel the world has lost: compromise, which I am using as shorthand for the ability of
people to get along and exist together without conflict.
It seems to me that some people are always looking for how they can benefit from
something; what do they stand to gain? The biggest lesson Appalachia gave me, as I briefly
mentioned earlier, was the importance of community, and that you are never too important, too
educated, too well-off, or too beyond your community to respect and be considerate of the people
around you. In other words, it taught me humility. I, along with everyone else, have no right to
have the way I think be automatically deemed better than anyone simply because I will it so. All
people have their own ways of experiencing the world, and no one has the right to belittle or take
away from that experience. If you assume your way is the only one that’s valid, the only one that
exists, you only feed the cycle of hate and resentment between you and the people you try to
force your ideals onto.
To go even further, you have to recognize that others want their views to be recognized
and respected, as all people do, and it is your responsibility to grant that to them. So, you must
learn to be understanding, to acknowledge that you are not always right. Coming from
Appalachia, the land of traditions, it took me some time to learn that not everyone believes the
same way I do. Often, it seems to me that I’m the one in the right, yet I have learned that I cannot
force people to do things my way if they choose not to. I’ve learned to accept that people were
raised differently and that they are free to live their own way. I’ve started to try to understand all
the factors that influenced who they are. A motto to mimic this lesson is that the more that
people talk, the less that is actually said. What I mean is that if you never allow people the
chance to tell their story, and you’re rambling on about your “superior” view, then neither of you
will ever see eye-to-eye.
The one thing above all else, and the reason I’m making this “guide,” is that people need
to have a want to compromise. There has to be a desire to find peace, a want to put others before
yourself, and a sentiment that resonates in all people to live together. This doesn’t mean you have
to agree with everyone, and certainly doesn’t mean that you have to support them if you feel it’s
wrong, but what it does mean is that we all share this big green rock we call Earth, and there’s
little we can do to change that. The best thing for all parties involved is to accept that we all
exist. It’s a crazy sentiment, I know, but maybe if we all took a moment to realize that, at a base
level, no one person has God-given power over the other; we’re all just flesh and bones. That’s
what I’ve learn is true from Appalachia to Louisville, from D.C. to Sacramento, from the
mountains to the prairies, we’re all just people, and it’s about time we start living like it.
Landon is a freshman McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville in the class of 2029. He is studying political science with a minor in legal studies.