RDH - Nature Might Be Pretty, but for Today’s Human Beings, That’s About as Far as It Goes

Nature Might Be Pretty, but for Today’s Human Beings, That’s About as Far as It Goes

July 19, 2007

I hate to have to be the bearer of the obvious, but poor, rural Americans don't fare as well—on average—as rich Americans who live in urban areas. The notable exceptions to this are (1) young rural dwellers who, though poor, happen to be exceptionally healthy and good looking in addition to maintaining a medium to low body weight (many of these lucky people will notice their natural advantage and move to the city); and (2) healthy, well-educated adults who choose to return to rural areas in a bid to create a sort of agrarian utopia, complete with wireless Internet and a Japanese gas-electric hybrid automobile—and whose only claim to poverty is education-related debt or a youthful latter-day Communist worldview.

Nature is nonetheless extraordinary, and it's nice to be able to get away from your high-paying job and your regular exercise routine and enjoy it from time to time. Better yet, in America, there's a landscape to suit almost every taste. And though many of us like to invoke the rain forest when discussing the fate of the environment, few of us would actually want to spend much time there dodging its tree snakes. When push comes to shove, the majority of Americans would doubtless prefer to limit their wilder excursions to scuba diving near Puerto Vallarta, content to observe the encroaching jungle from a distance—later, in the evening, poolside, over a Dos Equis (so named to celebrate the advent of the twentieth century,* which would give us so many tools—bottled water chief among them—to wield against nature).

"Mr. Harper, are you suggesting that the calls, especially among well-meaning intellectuals, for a greater appreciation of nature in the face of global warming and other catastrophes fail to take into account our fundamental incompatibility with our own planet?" Something like that.

Leaving such particulars aside, all but the most intrepid Americans, it's probably safe to say, would have to admit that they would prefer to spend the bulk of their days in an extraordinarily expensive and clean, odor-free, bug-free environment, where they can enjoy expensive, stylish clothes for every occasion, an up-to-date hairstyle, the luxury of in-home movies with theater-quality picture and sound, an expensive coffee machine, a program of vigorous exercise at a state-of-the-art health club, regular visits to a board-certified physician affiliated with a major urban teaching and research hospital, thin, fully immunized children—if any—who demonstrate an entrepreneur's feel for data and communications technology by age nine, thick, expensive, absorbent bathroom linens and buttery-smooth sheets with a miraculously high thread count, immigrant help with a heart of gold for elderly immediate family members, a doorman whose friendly patois makes you feel a connection to the rich, chaotic tapestry of urban life, a growing, diversified portfolio, central air and heating, a kitchen stocked with organic produce and plenty of targeted supplements, world-class museums and restaurants and theaters and perhaps even opera—nearby—and, of course, a home office, a rec room, and a huge kitchen with a professional-quality range and a huge refrigerator/freezer finished in brushed stainless steel. Not to mention millions of dollars in spending money.

Unfortunately, this world—the same one that nurtures people like Cameron Diaz and George Clooney—is closed to the majority of us. But rather than continue to analyze the gulf between rural poor and urban rich by means of ordinary expository prose, I've made a table that highlights the key differences in a more economic fashion.

AMERICA’S RURAL/URBAN DIVIDE (TAKING WEALTH INTO ACCOUNT)
	RURAL POOR	URBAN RICH
Food	Bulk meats and soda from an outlying shopping center, seasonally supplemented with venison and washed down with beer and coffee	Local organic produce and grass-fed beef (if at all), augmented by plenty of supplements and visits to some of the nicest restaurants in Manhattan, Paris, London, or wherever the itinerary leads, washed down with an all-day regimen of spring water complemented by expensive coffees and alcoholic drinks taken in moderation, if at all
Drugs	Cigarettes, crystal methamphetamine, Mountain Dew	Antidepressants, antibiotics, fish-oil capsules, various herbs, multivitamins, some recreational drugs, especially among the excessively young and rich
Transport	American pickup trucks for the men and American sedans for the women	Public conveyances, supplemented with a top-tier SUV (for family safety and comfort on the occasional excursions into rural America) and first-class airline seats
Exercise	Driving, watching television, climbing in and out of the truck, working, fixing the roof, playing with the dogs, mowing the lawn	Four hours of cardiovascular workouts a week supplemented with twice- or thrice-weekly strength training; a tendency to hustle from one exciting moment to the next
Health care	Medical intervention upon shortness of breath, diabetic coma, or erectile dysfunction (usually on spouse's urging); trips in the truck to pick up "meds" at an outlying pharmacy; drugstore canes; annual wellness checkups for the kids, every other year or so at first, then not at all	Early screening for everything; annual visits to the dermatologist to address questionable-looking skin lesions; doctor-recommended colonoscopies with a careful GI obsessed with rooting out every last polyp; for kids, several opinions from top medical psychiatrists to try to determine specific learning styles and any need for medication
Work	Often difficult or even dangerous	Cushy and air-conditioned, with lots of work-from-home options and plenty of paid travel
Relationship to nature	Less synergistic with each passing year, though better all-wheel-drive technology gives some measure of security in hobbled old age	Better with each passing year, as the perspective of advancing age lends an increasingly sentimental glow to the beautiful vistas of the unimproved environment, where past excursions are recalled and milestones celebrated

There are many more differences, of course, but I think these are enough to make the point. If you still don't see it, take the following multiple-choice self-test:

Would you rather be
(a) poor and live in the beautiful, wide-open spaces of the country;
(b) extremely rich and live in a large metropolis; or
(c) extremely rich and live out in the middle of nowhere?

If you answered a, you doubtless disagree with my perspective on things. If you answered b or c, you probably agree, unless you answered c and can honestly say that you'd forgo all but a few modern amenities.

*"Twentieth century" in Spanish is generally written as siglo XX.