PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

I think Oklahoma is part of The South because it had no better alternative and it only followed suit of its greatest rival and biggest neighbor; Texas. Perhaps I'm wrong, I've only walked this world for twenty three years, the first seven spent in Texas and the rest in the greater Oklahoma City area. There's no doubt Oklahoma is part of The South, but it isn't and never will be part of The Deep South. Surely there is much for me to learn, but if I may point out a few observations from my time in these places.

Of all the states considered to be in The South, Oklahoma is the most northwest of them all. Think about it, flat and lonely Kansas sure isn't in the south, Missouri at times may feel like the south but it's Midwestern at heart, Colorado and New Mexico with their mountains are far too west to even be considered in the south, but the other states that OK borders Texas and Arkansas that's the south. I'll admit I don't know much about Arkansas and though Texas is the south I will admit (much to my displeasure) that Texas is special in its own way, everything's bigger in Texas and unless I'm mistaken it's the only state that can claim it was once its own independent nation.

Now Oklahoma was settled by a motely of a people, first Andrew Jackson forced the Indians here (Native Americans if you feel so politically inclined) and their heritage runs deep here and I believe they're doing the best to get all they can back from the White Man one casino at a time, and between you and me I hope they succeed. Well we all know the pattern of the US pioneers they did one of two things they either took the land out right despite no right to it or they told you they weren't going to take your land and did precisely the opposite. So here was this territory that would eventually achieve statehood in 1907 but not before the land run of 1889 in which is became all too apparent to the Indians that the White Man was at it again. It was just getting its act together during these times it was the newcomer on the block a state stuck in limbo. It was in the heartland, couldn't claim the west (sure didn't have the mountains for it either) wasn't cold enough to be part of the north, but in truth wasn't truly south either. So its settlers who came mainly from Texas and the east did the only thing they knew and claimed Oklahoma for The South.

You see the thing is Oklahoma is a joke around the country. I imagine if I traveled to NYC or LA and proudly proclaimed I was an Okie there wouldn't be many pleasant things to be said about that. I know that all too often Oklahomans bring it upon themselves, we don't pay our teachers well or treat them with the respect they deserve, when the tornados destroy our towns and cities the news crews always seem to find the one person or family that reinforces all the worse stereotypes about the state, and it doesn't help when our Senator takes a snowball to Capitol Hill to fight his argument about climate change. We're also small, 3.5 million of us approximately and over 2 million of that lives in the OKC and Tulsa metros, so that's a lot of acres with not so many people on it which depending on your outlook is really awesome or really sucky. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the OK brand is a small one and without a more independent spirit or better alternative we (I mean our ancestors) decided to be part of The South.