While we all may pride ourselves on being individuals, we are not independent of the environment in which we live. Like Jack Beechum in The Memory of Old Jack, I too have been impacted by the places in which I have lived. Place has impacted my values, political ideas, and personal goals.
Growing up in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas gave me different values compared with some who have grown up in Idaho. Acceptance of diversity is one such issue. Some native Idahoans are very fearful and hostile towards ideas/viewpoints/beliefs that are against their own. Currently, there's a letter war in the Times-News over Planned Parenthood, student body officers at the University of Idaho tried to burn the flag of the lesbian/gay alliance, and most of the leadership positions in the Twin Falls area are held by Caucasians. This is not to say that everyone supports these limitations on differences, but generally, I believe growing up in Texas has given me a strong value of supporting diversity. I grew up with the belief that just because someone's viewpoint is different than mine, that mine isn't necessarily better. Growing up in Texas gave me a strong respect for diversity.
This is not to say that I don't have strong views about certain subjects. I am very adamant about many political issues, and these have been strongly influenced by the places in which I have lived. Both Texas and Idaho are predominately-Republican states, and my values reflect this. In Texas, an annual family activity was the hunting trip. Every November, my father and I would go out to a leased hunting range and try for three or four white-tailed deer. This also meant that we had a substantial collection of firearms at my house. Place helped me develop ideas of support of the 2nd amendment and responsible use of the environment by sportsmen and women. If I had grown up on the east coast, I might not have had these same political viewpoints.
