Down Home Mississippi

(November 20, 2006)

I was more amused than insulted by Rep. Charlie Rangel’s (D-NY) comments a few days ago: “Why the h*** would anyone want to live in Mississippi?” Mr. Rangel simply confirms what most of us from down home Mississippi have known for a long time. Those who make a career decrying bigotry are not immune from bigotry themselves.

When God called me into the ministry, I said, “I’ll go wherever you want me to go, Lord, as long as I don’t have to leave Mississippi.” It sounded like a reasonable deal to me. There were plenty of churches in my beloved home state needing pastors. But like Jonah, I soon found the vow of itinerancy knows no boundaries.

It didn’t take long to discover a majority of people outside Mississippi, even other Southerners, have the same mistaken idea as Mr. Rangel. So, I made another life-long commitment: I appointed myself a “Mississippi Good Will Ambassador”. I brag on Mississippi every chance I get. Whether in my sermons or university lectures, my “kudzu stories’ keep the folks awake and sometimes laughing.

You don’t have to be around me for very long to hear me say something good about Mississippi. (I love seeing the startled look in folk’s eyes when someone actually says something good about the Magnolia State.) You might even say I’ve made a career myself spinning yarns about down home; making Yazoo City a combination of Mayberry and Lake Wobegon, because that is exactly what Mississippi was (and still is) for me!

Many people think the folks down home cannot read. Heck, some of them can even write; William Faulkner, John Grisham, Eudora Welty, and Willie Morris just to name a few. Some think Mississippians just play all the time. They do, and some do it very well: Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, Bret Favre, and the Manning dynasty to name a few more. Many think all that Southern charm and talent is just an act for entertainment, and they are right. Look at Elvis, Oprah, and B.B. to name a few. (No need to mention their last names; their first names say it all.) I could go on, but will spare you the litany, Mr. Rangel. And notice we are proud of them all, regardless of gender, race or other distinguishing characteristics.

The truth about Mississippi, Mr. Rangel, is that some of God’s choicest children, born of adversity, poverty, and discrimination, are also some of the most loving, friendly, and (certified by a national magazine) most giving people in America (make that the world!) If you will take time to visit the Hospitality State, you most likely will find that we are also the most forgiving…proving the most church-going state in the nation is true to its faith.

Sure, we have a few sore-heads, just like you do in New York. Some of them will take your words to launch another battle of the Civil War. Let’s remember Mississippi was one of the first states to respond to New York after 9/11. In turn, New York was one of the first states to respond to Mississippi after Katrina. That’s the way it ought to be; friends helping friends. Mississippians had their hands extended after Katrina, but not for federal handouts; our hands were extended to help our neighbors.

Thanks for your apology, Mr. Rangel. Apology accepted! I’ve put my foot in my mouth more times than I care to remember. Now, my new friend, come on down home, see for yourself first hand, and get ready for one of the best experiences of your life. Heck, you might decide this would be a good place to live.

From the Quote Garden
“I have no color prejudices nor caste prejudices nor creed prejudices. All I care to know is that a man is a human being, and that is enough for me; he can't be any worse.”
~ Mark Twain

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