Liberal in Alabama

I was born in Huntsville Hospital in 1976.  My children were born in the same hospital, my mother and grandfather passed in that same hospital, and I have had my own mental health examined in that hospital.  I've lived in Madison County for my entire life.  The first nine years were spent in North Huntsville, which was engineered to become the black part of town.  I went to a school that had few white children, and until third grade, I didn't even realize there was a real difference between any of us.  Then I moved to Madison, a bedroom community that has now grown into a city of its own.  Mostly white, but now now there is an abundance of upper-middle-class residents.  When I lived there, it was considered a part of the country (out in the county).  I then moved back into Huntsville, spending a lot of time in the Five Point area, where there are historical homes and a bunch of modern-day hippies.  When I met the love of my life, we decided to move out to Hazel Green, which is as country as it sounds, but things are changing.

All of this diversity is contained within 800+ square miles and a population greater than 360,000.  The last I read, our area was growing as other places in the state are declining.  We are hope to real rocket scientists, Space Camp, a large collection of Antebellum homes, and a gated Army facility that houses NASA, the Missile Defense Agency, and even the FBI.  Oh, and you can throw a rock and hit a Ph.D. or a church.  Depends on your aim. Diversity.

In my almost 43 years of existence here in my corner of Alabama, I have seen a lot of things, and a lot of different people.  I've been in the homes of Huntsville's socialites, whose homes reside on the side of a mountain, overlooking the city.  The same mountain that bore a huge cross for all to see as you drive through the main arteries of the heart of Huntsville.  I've also been in the houses of addicts, who were hoarders, and didn't care for their children.  I've gotten lost in the bad parts of town, toured the beautiful parts, and dreamed of living my entire life right here.

Luckily, I found my love right here.  He is what my grandma would call a Yankee, but she would have loved him if she had been in her right mind when we met.  I have passed up jobs in Washington, D.C. with NASA, and working for Hilton Corporate in Las Vegas, just to stay here.  I am glad I did, or else I would not have met my husband and have my three children.  It never occurred to me that we should move until after my mother died.

That part I mentioned about my mental health - it was a scary time.  After my mother passed, I felt like I had been abandoned by my family.  I have no siblings and my biological father is not a part of my life.  My two aunts, who were more like sisters to me growing up than anything, seemed to forget about me.  They have their own lives, but that family connection we lost was devastating to me.  Devastation of a botched routine surgery left me with acute PTSD, and I lost my mind.  I'm glad to say that I am almost fully recovered.  I am not sure anyone can fully recover from PTSD, so I will amend my statement to say that I have successfully battled PTSD, and am happy with where I am.

In all of my ups and down in this county, full of people from every walk of life, I have been surrounded by churches that I love, and others I question.  I'm not a practicing Christian.  I've lived my life and have raised my children to understand the tenants of the Christian faith, but only so far as we should "do unto others" and "love thy neighbor."  They know why we celebrate Easter and Christmas, but these days, they just seem corrupt with materialism.  Capitalism will do that to religion.  Everyone has something to sell and everyone consumes.

Consumption of religion is a big market here in Alabama.  It also exists within the politics of the state.  That is why Alabama has just seen a draconian abortion law passed, where there are no exclusions for rape or incest, and the rapist still has parental rights to the child.  It's pretty messed up.  That is why I have questioned organized religion, and between all the Catholic and Southern Baptist church-related cases of pedophilia, I have even more reasons to question the churches that are heavily peppered across our entire state.

Growing up and living in Alabama can be a challenge when you are a proclaimed liberal democrat.  Just ask my son when he told his 8th grade class that Hillary Clinton was his hero.  I told him not to do it.  I told him he would be seen differently, and gosh, has he suffered.  He will be a Junior next year, and it still haunts him.  He's "that liberal" guy.  He has friends, but he has kept that label even as we are more than two years into Trump's presidency.

Recently, I wrote a piece about being liberal in Alabama, and how religion and politics are intertwined, and oppressive.  You can find it on Medium.com.  It is quite a bittersweet feeling right now as I see the direction this state is headed.  I hope you find the time to read it, as I touch upon some of the issues I've raised here.

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