John had absolutely no problem saying, "One strike against you is you're not local". I told him, I planned to go door-to-door this summer and fall. John said that was important. My only neighbour says he doesn't 'know' me. Part of the beauty of country life is the frankness of conversation. But how well can someone really know me after talking for ten minutes on their doorstep?
John says residents won't know me and that's one reason why residents may not vote for me. If people won't vote for me simply because they don't know me well enough, or I haven't lived here forever, that's something to seriously consider.
Familiarity is more important to country people than city people. As a country boy who's lived in the city I know the truth of it. City people, for the most part, don't want to know their neighbours, try to avoid them so they can have some sense of privacy in a sea of humanity. Maybe that's part of the reason residents and cottagers don't mix often - different social values.
People elect people not just political platforms. You'd like to know how someone would react in certain situations. That's understandable and, I think, at the heart of the whole 'knowing' problem. I've described my thoughts, feelings, and actions into seven different web logs (blogs) over the past four years. It's all there if you really want to know me. I try to spice it with humour for entertainment's sake now and then.
So, even though you don't know me and I haven't lived in Seguin my whole life, I'm going to go half way to respect and honestly understand you if we meet. Those are my country values - respect and the effort to understand neighbours. But it goes both ways.
If you can't get past the fact that you and I are little different, or don't know if I prefer chocolate or vanilla (chocolate), I get it. Trust the thing you know even though you don't like it. My prescription? Phlebotomy.
