Blue in a Red State: The Survival Guide to Life in the Real America by Justin Krebsq

209 Pages·1.568 MB·English

by  Justin Krebs

Sociology/Political Science $24.95 U.S.
“As social movement movers and shakers go, Drinking Liberally
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co-founder Justin Krebs is a virtual whirling dervish of democratic k
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Advance Praise for Blue in a Red State sn
Imagine if you felt out of step with most of the peo-
ple with whom you interact casually every day, from
“Krebs approaches his subjects with candor and respect...both
your workout group to the parent association at
conservative and liberal readers will react strongly....The book will your kid’s school. What if you frequently overheard
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spur discussion and civic action.” —Kir Kus neighbors quoting Fox News about the decline of
L American values? What do you do if your teenager’s
The founding director of Living Liberally, with more
than two hundred chapters across the country , “It will make you laugh. It will make you angry. And it will leave you U driving instructor forces him to listen to Rush Lim-
baugh in the car? How would you feel if you were
Justin Krebs is the author of 538 Ways to feeling optimistic about America. Blue in a red state is a real gem.” E
afraid to put a political bumper sticker on your car
Live, Work, and Play Like a Liberal. He is a campaign —BoB Her Ber T, Distinguished Senior Fellow at Demos
or had to think twice about what liberal posts you
director for MoveOn.org and lives in Brooklyn.
and former op-ed columnist for the New York Times I like on Facebook? These are just some of the expe-
n riences shared by liberals across five time zones,
“An illuminating view of how real people deal with political differences. from the heartland to the Deep South, who tell their

Participating in our democracy is not always a smooth journey, but A stories with honesty, warmth, and humor.
Most of us have to “talk across the aisle” once
Krebs shows liberals how to maintain their values, their dignity,

or twice a year—when we’re seated next to our con-
even their sense of humor in the process.”
r servative uncle at Thanksgiving, say. But millions
—LIz SHuLer, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO
of self-identified liberals live in cities and towns—
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particularly away from both coasts and the nation’s
“Fascinating stories of real Americans navigating fraught political D biggest cities—where they are regularly outnum -
territories. We can all learn something about how to reach across the bered and outvoted by conservatives.

aisle from Blue in a red state.” —THom HArTmAnn, radio/TV host S In this uplifting and completely original book,
Justin Krebs, the founder of the national Living Lib-
T
erally network, speaks with and tells the stories of
“Krebs gives hope that there is a way for progressives to live
A atheists, vegetarians, environmentalists, pacifists,
happily in red states. A fun read and great advice.”
and plain old-fashioned liberals—a term he is intent
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—AnDy STern, former head of SEIU on rehabilitating—from Texas to Idaho, South Caro-
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lina to Alaska. Krebs weaves these stories together
to create a provocative and compelling vision of
THE NEW PRESS strategies for living in a diverse society , with les-
sons for every participant in our great democratic
www.thenewpress.com
experiment.
Photograph of Justin Krebs by Rachel Levy
Jacket design by David Shoemaker
THE NEW PRESS
Blue in a Red State

also by justin krebs
538 Ways to Live, Work, and Play Like a Liberal

Blue in a
Red State
A Survival Guide to
Life in the Real America
Justin Krebs
© 2016 by Justin Krebs
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form,
without written permission from the publisher.
Requests for permission to reproduce selections from this book should be mailed to:
Permissions Department, The New Press, 120 Wall Street,
31st floor, New York, NY 10005.
Published in the United States by The New Press, New York, 2016
Distributed by Perseus Distribution
libraryofcongresscataloging-in-publicationdata
Names: Krebs, Justin, author.
Title: Blue in a red state : a survival guide to life in the real America / Justin Krebs.
Description: New York : The New Press, 2016.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015031077 | ISBN 9781595589729 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781595589699 (e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Liberalism—United States. | Right and left (Political science)—United
States. | Liberals—United States—Biography. | Political culture—United States. |
BISAC: POLITICAL SCIENCE / Civics & Citizenship. | POLITICAL SCIENCE /
Political Ideologies / Conservatism & Liberalism. | POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political
Ideologies / Democracy. | POLITICAL SCIENCE / Government / General.
Classification: LCC JC574.2.U6 K753 2016 | DDC 320.51/30973—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015031077
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CONTENTS
Introduction ix
Lisa Muxworthy—Waukesha, Wisconsin 1
Spike Murphree—Sandia Park, New Mexico 11
Rebecca Lehman and Chris Flowers—
Cincinnati, Ohio 25
Diane Fleeks—Fairbanks, Alaska 36
Dan Henry—Idaho Falls, Idaho 46
John Turner-McClelland—Little Elm, Texas 55
Susannah Casey—Kalispell, Montana 67
Rita and Dean Smith—
Pawleys Island, South Carolina 76
Desmond Porbeni—
Tuscaloosa, Alabama/New York, New York 89
Kathleen Thompson—Grapevine, Texas 103
Greg Leding—Fayetteville, Arkansas 113
Chris Sonne—Yankton, South Dakota 121
Diane, Al, and Cass Chulick—
Spartanburg, South Carolina 132
Lenzi Sheible—Austin, Texas 143
Joe Litton—Brandon, Florida 153
Glenn and Christina Wiech—
Milford, Massachusetts 163
Byron Stuart—Pomeroy, Iowa 176
Acknowledgments 185
INTRODUCTION
Lisa in Waukesha, Wisconsin, has two Facebook accounts. One
reflects her liberal politics; the other is for acquaintances and fam-
ily members to whom Lisa shows only her cat photos. Christina, in
Milford, Massachusetts, has a sign in the back window of her car
proclaiming support for a Democratic candidate. But as soon as
she parks in the company lot, she puts it facedown on the backseat.
Byron has lived in the same small town of Pomeroy, Iowa—popu-
lation 662—his entire life. He brings his partner to family dinners
but has never actually said to his conservative sister that he’s gay.
Lisa, Christina, and Byron are “blues in red states”—liberals
who live in conservative communities that exist in every state,
Republican- or Democratic-leaning, across America. They and
people like them are constantly reminded they aren’t quite like ev-
eryone else: from the churches they do or don’t attend, to their pur-
chases and media preferences, to their loyalties at the ballot box.
On a daily basis, liberals who have made homes, formed friend-
ships, and participated in the civic life of conservative towns and
cities are confronted with unsettling reminders that they’re dif-
ferent, and they’ve found myriad ways to take that truth in stride.
On some occasions, it’s best to say as little as possible. Chris in