The Montgomery side and Wetumpka side of the Tallapoosa
are connected by a bridge that spans no more than a few hundred feet.
Physically, the divide between the two sides is easy to cross.
Socially, economically, politically and culturally, the
same cannot be said. The bridge represents a divide between the two cities that
is more similar to the Grand Canyon than the slight part in the land where the
river runs. It is one that is not unique to this place in central Alabama.
Instead, it currently permeates throughout the country in a fashion that has
rarely, if ever, been seen before.
Simply put, the divide between rural and urban America
has reached full-blown crisis mode, and it shows no sign of slowing down or reversing
itself.
“It’s a tough problem to solve,” said Larry Lee, an
expert on education in Alabama. “I don’t know if we can do it.”
***
Steve Lee lived in the city for most of his life.
He was a United States postal worker for more than 30
years before his retirement, and he decided to reward himself by moving into a
rural area. Lee and his wife, owners of more than 10 horses and avid riders,
enjoy the serenity of the country life, one that gives them space to roam and
room to breathe.
“Our favorite thing out here is the trails,” Lee said. “You
can go just about anywhere and find a trail to ride.”
Lee’s exodus from big-city living to a more laid-back,
slow lifestyle is but one example of one of the biggest factors dividing urban
and rural dwellers.
In interviews with those from both sides, it became
apparent that there is a fascination with the way of living on the other side
by most everyone.
Urban residents don’t see the good in being so far away
from many modern conveniences and consistently living such a slow life, while
rural citizens often wonder how “city folk” survive packed so tightly in such a
hustle-and-bustle environment.
“I’ve lived in the city my whole life,” said Lincoln
Bell, a Montgomery resident. “I don’t mind the country, but I’m not sure how I’d
feel about living there.”
The sentiments from those in rural communities were
similar.
The difference in cultures between the two places, even
though they are separated by less than 30 minutes, provides one of the biggest
wedges between the two sects of the American culture. As long as rural
residents stay in rural areas and urban residents stay in urban areas, the
chances of narrowing the divide seem slim.
“I don’t know (if the divide can be closed), man,” Lee
said. “That’s a tough question. I do know that the type of people are just so
different. Out here, you go to the gas station and sit in the booth and have a
cup of coffee and eat a biscuit and talk to the locals for an hour. In the
city, that would never happen.”
***
Bell likes to say he grew up with a drug problem. As in,
his parents drug him to church each time the doors were open.
“That’s just kind of the way it was,” Bell said. “I never
really thought much of it, honestly.”
It’s not as if Bell and his three siblings had much of a
choice. He grew up the son of a pastor, but when it comes to religion in urban
areas, he is somewhat an exception to the rule. Statistically, people in urban
areas are less likely to be religious and attend religious services than those
in rural areas.
A 2016 study concluded that 11 of the 12 states with the
highest percentage of church attendees in their population were in the Deep
South, most of which is rural area. Some states with the lowest percentage of
church attendees included Massachusetts and New York, states where large urban
areas make up a significant portion of the population.
The divisiveness between rural and urban areas when it
comes to religion in the Deep South isn’t as bad as other areas of the country,
because even the urban areas in the region have a higher percentage of
religious people than elsewhere in the United States. Even so, Bell said
religion is still a dividing line between rural and urban areas, even in the
so-called “Bible Belt” region.
“I obviously grew up in a religious household, but I definitely
had a lot of friends whose families didn’t go to church or didn’t really
identify as religious people,” Bell said.
Due to the higher percentage of religious people in rural
areas, Bell said many people in urban areas feel looked down upon if they are
not religious.
“Most of them probably don’t mean to come across like
that, but I feel like people from the country who go to church do sometimes
kind of look down on cities as immoral places overall,” Bell said. “I don’t
notice it as much because I’m also a Christian, but I have talked to people who
feel that way.”
Lee agreed that many people from rural areas don’t mean
to come across as looking down upon those from urban areas, but the high
priority those people place on their religion makes it appear so at times. It
can even blend into other walks of life, such as politics.
“People here in the country care deeply about their
religious beliefs, and that can come across as intolerance of people with other
beliefs or different beliefs,” Lee said. “You see religion seep into all areas
here, whereas I didn’t see that as much living in a city. I do feel like it’s
probably a dividing line.”
***
Though
not as stark of a divide as the culture and religion, another dividing line
exists between educational experiences in urban and rural areas.
Larry
Lee and Dr. Joe Sumners, two education experts in Alabama, said in their travels
around the state, the divide has actually been made three ways — rural, urban
and suburban.
“Rural
and urban are actually more similar than either of those as compared to
suburban,” Sumners said.
The
divide between rural and urban educational experiences, Lee said, comes when
children finish life at home. Children in rural areas who receive opportunities
in higher education don’t often return to those rural areas after graduation,
because there are better opportunities in cities. Because of this, a
significant portion of rural populations have been there for their whole life
and have never crossed the divide.
“I’m
not sure it can be (fixed),” Lee said. “You’ve got what we’ve always called the
brain drain. All these kids grow up in rural areas and go off to college and
don’t come back. I call it selling our best heifers.”
***
Though
close in proximity, Montgomery and Wetumpka is separated by a dividing line
that is physically smaller than in other walks of life.
“I’m
not sure why we don’t cross the divide more,” Lee said. “We can all learn from
each other, but you don’t see it much anymore. People tend to live in their own
bubbles.”
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