In her recent article in the Wall Street Journal “If They Want to Make It Hip, They Shouldn't Call It Square-Dancing," Mary Pilon highlights the challenges square dancers in the Northwest face in keeping the art alive. She describes their battle as “fighting the hay-bale and hillbilly stigma,” yet a tension exists with older dancers who “complain that young people are too loud and don't respect traditional clothing or music.” They may be in their right, but in a survey conducted by the United Square Dancers of America, only 36% of dancers were under the age of 60 in 2005, with fewer than 1% between 19 and 29. The Oregon Federation of Square and Round Dance Clubs counted 89 clubs with 4,000 members this year, down from 115 clubs and 7,500 members 10 years ago. Facing those numbers, it seems reasonable to label square dancers as an ‘endangered species.'

The struggle facing square dancers, for me, sounds like the challenge at the core of every rural community. Namely, how can communities hold on to their historical traditions and identity while also allowing room for evolution and innovation from the younger generations and new economic environments? Unfortunately, many don’t.

In an article titled “The Rural Brain Drain,” derived from their recent book, authors Patrick J. Carr and Maria J. Kefalas state that “many small towns are mere years away from extinction, while others limp along in a weakened and disabled state.” According to Carr and Kefalas, “In just over two decades, more than 700 rural counties, from the Plains to the Texas Panhandle through to Appalachia, lost 10 percent or more of their population. Nationally, there are more deaths than births in one of two rural counties.” While their report focuses on their experience in Ellis, Iowa, the lessons learned are applicable to any rural community concerned with the flight of the ‘best and the brightest’ of their children from the community.

The hard to swallow conclusion: small towns collude in their own demise.

“Hollowing out results from a combination of macro forces reshaping nonmetropolitan America: the unfettered rise of agribusiness and big-box retailing that has suffocated local ownership, the decline of unions and blue-collar wages, employers' increased reliance on exploited undocumented workers, and the systemic underinvestment in younger workers entering the new economy's labor force without college degrees.”

In a review of the book from The Daily Yonder, reviewer Caitlin Howley sums it up nicely when she says “Rural kids find that they must negotiate between their commitment to place and their commitment to the American ideal of individualist achievement, an ideal increasingly difficult to reach as the economic foundations of many rural communities continue to crumble.” 'When moving up implies moving out,' what should young people do?”

(From Georgeanne Artz, Choices magazine. This map shows the 'comparative share' of college educated population as a percent of total population.)

So what’s to be done? Carr and Kefalas suggest several points: enacting a more comprehensive view of education that provides equal support for both college bound students as well as those interested in vocational education, building better links between high school and post secondary education while mapping existing opportunities onto regional economic goals, embracing immigration and the integration of immigrants into the larger community, create means to entice ‘high flying’ youth to return to the nest, and, my personal favorite, reinvestment in our food industry.

Overall it seems that rural communities must embrace and encourage change, which is a thing some long time locals find difficult. Rural youth (among whose ranks I count myself) need to feel that there are viable economic opportunities available for them, either in the form of traditional employment or, increasingly, through a climate that encourages and supports entrepreneurship. Beyond fiscal concerns, rural youth need to feel they have a voice in their local cultural dialogue, and that they have the latitude to express their own identity and explore their unique interest. The punk rock square dancers mentioned in Mary Pilon’s article are a perfect example.

It’s unreasonable to think that our communities can exist in a cultural or economic bubble, and we need to find a balance between holding on to those aspects that comprise our unique local identity while embracing trends and technologies that can support the continued relevance of rural communities in an increasingly global world. To put it another way, the whole community needs to be invited to the dance floor and if the ‘youngins’ want to do a few more hip bumps, or choose combat boots over petty coats, as the dancers in Mary Pilon’s article do, we should celebrate the new ‘flavor’ they bring.
 

© 2009–2012 Rural Development Initiatives, Inc.
Contributor Login   |   Terms & Privacy Policy