Growing urban-rural tension (or) Random thoughts from trip to Branson

My wife threatened to tell everyone at the church that “my husband has gone country”.

Nooooooo!

Well – sort of. There is a serious point coming. See below.

Got back last night – whole trip back on one day – from our first purely fun family holiday and to Branson Missouri. We had a fantastic time. One performer (showboat) described Branson as being “like Mayberry – except with a cover charge”.

I had never had any interest in going to Branson. Sounded like some over-commercialized country music drag strip. I have not cared for country music. Or crowded places. Or spending lots of money. Or heavy traffic.

There is a place in Harrison Arkansas you must stop at whether it is time for lunch/dinner or not. Their slogan is “we knead your dough”. Har har. No seriously. Fantastic food. Good prices. Killer muffins. Had Asiago Cheese Bisque on way up there and Five Star Mushroom on the way back. Yummy soup with two pieces of bread for about $4. Booyah.

Dinner first day at Ruby Tuesday’s. Why do I keep ordering big calorie laden burgers? Why?!? Excellent service. Worth paying $2 to watch my kids have a blast playing “Guitar Hero” at arcade. Strange that I should learn to enjoy KISS songs so late in life.

First night the show was New Shanghai Circus. Very good. Performers looked rather uncomfortable afterwards standing around for autographs and pictures. Apparently ta-men bu hui shuo ying-wen hao (they do not speak English well). Exchanged a few words in zhong-guo-hua with a young man. For some reason I enjoyed the drums most. Most people in the audience liked that the least.

Second day rode the “Ducks” (amphibious vehicles from World War Two) after first moving to our new place at Wyndham Resorts. (Family in church graciously let us use their unused timeshare points. In fact this is why we made the trip on short notice – free accommodations for four nights.) Thought $17 was too much for a one hour ride. No – it was a blast and lasted 1 1/2 hours. Well worth it. Make sure Bubba is your driver/guide or it ain’t worth going.

Second evening dinner at Danna’s. Eat there. Do not fail. Great food at reasonable prices. Pulled pork. No it was not kosher but it was yummy.

Next night saw Shoji Tabuchi. If you visit Branson – see it. Do not fail. It was outstanding. Very professional. Very entertaining. Bought some Japanese chopsticks in the gift shop because they are the best. Even Chinese people prefer them. Bring cash. Loved the drums.

One thought crossed my mind. Shoji learned to love country music while in Japan. And eventually became an American citizen. Everyone cheered. “What a great guy! He became a citizen of this great country!” How often do Americans become citizens of other nations? Would we cheer or label that person a feckless traitor? Imagine how difficult it would be for someone like me to become a citizen of the People’s Republic of China. We cheer when others do what we cannot imagine ourselves doing.

The segment in which he honored his son (who died age 19) and was for anyone who has “lost someone close to your heart” was touching and interesting. (Except for that wretched “If I Could Only Imagine” song.) Last year Jay Hogewood and I led a Jahrzeit worship gathering – one of the most significant things we have done here I think. It is important to acknowledge publicly death and loss and grief in ways that are appropriate and constructive.

Next day spent at Silver Dollar City. We got in for free. How? Some guy with season tickets had four unused guess tickets… waited for a family of four to show up… collared us (thought he might be a scalper)… offered us the four tickets. We saved $200. Then promptly waste(?) $60 on fast-passes (skip line at most popular rides) which we basically did not need or use. Had a great time. Enjoyed the toboggan ride (water slide in a raft) the most and did that about five times. Almost never a long line. I chickened out and would not go on the Powderkeg. (Zero to sixty in two seconds followed by… it looked absolutely freaking terrifying.) Wish I had gone for it just to show I could. Next time make sure you do the cave before you get too tired in the day. I would love to see some caverns.

No show that evening. Luigi’s Pizza for dinner. Excellent.

Last day we road the go-carts. This was the only “bad” experience of the trip. Basically not worth the money. Almost ten dollars per five minute ride on the track. You have got to be kidding me. We spent forty bucks and got the heck out of there.

Last night we were on the “Branson Belle” showboat. Fun performances. Excellent service. Dreadful food – do note! Severe stomach problems meant multiple trips to restroom and even missed some of the featured show by nationally known (animal) ventriloquist. Twenty nine Broadway songs in ten minutes with about as many costume changes was spectacular.

The one thing that was a bit hard to take was the “faith and freedom” schtick at the end. Complete with “Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory” and pictures of an American flag waving next to a cross. Eegads. A bit much. And there was an Orthodox Jewish family a few rows in front of me. (Yes it was that obvious.) Do they have to club us over the head with God and Jesus and the American Flag?!?

A few general observations.

Service and hospitality are always exceptional in Branson. I wish it was like that in other places. We have had some royally bad restaurant experiences – including one in which after one hour we still did not have our food and not only did we leave we refused coupons for free meals from the manager. But in Branson they do everything in their power to take care of you and with a friendly attitude. Even when they “scold” you – like a ride operator explaining to a small boy why he should not unhook the safety bar of his flying chair before the ride is over I am not making that up – they do so politely and respectfully.

Good service means good tips and returning customers. They get that in Branson.

They did not jack up prices even though they could have. Meals in Branson are pretty much what meals cost anywhere else.

But at the same time they used every opportunity they had to encourage a few more dollars our of their guests. I was not offended but you start to roll your eyes after a while. Make sure you visit the gift shop! Twenty dollars for the picture of your family getting onto the boat! Fifteen percent is appreciated! Buy a compact disc or video disc before you leave!

Branson is extremely family friendly and family oriented. You can take your kids to pretty much everything and not worry about “adult” or off-color humor. In fact they make a point of this. “We believe in wholesome entertainment” is a direct quote from one master-of-ceremonies. I happen to appreciate this point and think Hollywood and New York City and Popular Culture in general should sit up and take note. Much of what passes for “entertainment” on the television less so the radio less so the movies is vulgar trash that more or less insults “middle America” its lifestyle and its values.

A few more specific observations

Branson is very very country. That does not mean people who are not country music fans cannot find fun things to see and do. But dang is it country. Hardly a drop of urban(e) sophistication to be found anywhere. Finding a bookstore took some effort.

I wonder if you could have rock shows or classical music or opera or “high” theater (stage drama) in Branson.

I admit being an elite snob in this respect. I sometimes looked around a souvenir shop and thought “what a bunch of tasteless kitsch”. Or looked at other visitors and – unfortunately – thought to myself “what a bunch of hicks from the sticks”.

Branson is also very very white. I did not say racist. What I mean is that you see predominantly white  people in Branson as workers and as visitors. Although a fair number of Hispanics/Latinos which is interesting. Few African-American people. Sometimes I was worried and wondered if people of color would not be comfortable there. But I think it has to do more with the “culture” (types of musical and other offerings) in Branson.

(Last night during the Country Music Awards my children came to get me all excited because there was an African-American country singer on at the moment. He was excellent and we were thrilled to see that.)

Some will find this next part a bit offensive.

Americans are fat. Not everyone. But when you go to the water park and see people in their bathing suits or go to the amusement park and see all these people walking around – some riding around because they are so ginormous they can barely walk – you think “good night people – what do you eat?!? do you ever exercise?!?” Are we an overfed nation? Do we eat more than we need? Do we eat just to have something to do?

And yes I could stand to lose a few myself.

But that also led me to think about nakedness and sex and desire between people – in a positive way. “No I may not be super handsome and yeah maybe I could stand to lose a few and I am pasty white but still you love me and want me just the way I am” is part of the purpose of marriage. Donald Miller nailed the significance of nakedness in his book {NEED REFERENCE}. It is also why pornography is so pernicious and destructive – it is not just about “sin” or “sex is dirty”. It is quintessentially anti-Trinitarian.

What does Branson suggest about American society and culture – and about the emerging urban-rural tension?

I am increasingly convinced that American society may be entering a period of increased civil tension.

Have you seen the map of the 2008 Presidential election results by county? The nation – geographically speaking – is mostly red for Republican. The blue for Democrat counties are primarily in urban areas. (Please do not assume I mean Republican-good and Democrat-bad although I confess favoring Republican at this point in time.)

Not a black-white thing. Not a North-South thing. Although there is a black-white dimension and a North-South dimension.

I am convinced that right now the American people are increasingly divided along urban-rural lines. City versus country.

And the lifestyles and values that – for reasons I do not really understand – seem to go with that.

And where does Popular Culture – television and popular music and movies – come from primarily? From the cities. From urban culture. When people like David Letterman or Katie Couric or Jon Stewart take shot after shot against (political or social) conservative figures – they reflect the urban culture of which they are a part.

See – when you listen to country music it generally reflects a different way of looking at the world and at life. God. Country. Family. Work. Money. And so on.

And Branson is very country. Almost single show and tour at some point made a big deal about honoring veterans – quite astonishing. (New Shanghai Circus was an obvious exception.) And most shows and places to visit at some point make reference to “faith” (unfortunately to faith of a particularly Protestant Christian variety).

I do not think African-American people are so missing from Branson because of their ethnicity. I think it has to do with the extent to which African-Americans may be part of “urban” culture.

Let me explain that a bit. My second year at Cornell University I lived in a special dorm called Ujamaa. About 130+ people. And I was one of three white people.

White students sometimes expressed surprise that I lived there. “You live in the black dorm? Did they make a mistake?” First of all no mistake – you have to apply to live there. I chose to live there and generally enjoyed it and learned a great deal.

Second – and more importantly – although about 95+% African-American I honestly did not think “black dorm” was as accurate as “the New York City dorm”. What gave Ujamaa its peculiar culture was not – in my opinion – the ethnicity of its residents. It was that most of them were from New York City.

I sincerely believe that two New York City people – one white and one African-American – will have more in common than two African-Americans – one from the city and one from the country. Some will say that is nuts. I could be wrong. But so far that is what I have observed.

I am on thin ice here. Because biblically speaking cities have a special significance. How often does the Bible refer to cities in a positive way? More than you might think. See Culture Making by Andy Crouch. Cities are especially important as places where culture is generated.

I am not entirely comfortable with these thoughts and observations. Because it sounds as if I am arguing “city bad – country good”. Cities are supposed to be holy and dynamic places where the kingdom of God happens in high gear. It troubles me deeply to think that in the year 2009 in the United States we have a growing conflict/tension between urban and rural. And urban is winning – largely because that is where much of our news and popular culture come from.

I could be wrong. What do you think?