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I wonder if anyone has told the folks in west Texas that they are part of "Greater Appalachia."

• 23B1 3y ago
  Let's not let the cultural identity of those silly 'flyover states' get in the way of our academic self-adulation, mmkay?
  • orwin 3y ago
    Texas is certainly not a flyover state. Moreover, it's in the article: >>> Greater Appalachia (pop. 59 million) Settlers overwhelmingly from war-ravaged Northern Ireland, Northern England and Scottish lowlands were deeply committed to personal sovereignty and intensely suspicious of external authority. >>> The geography of U.S. life expectancy — and the policy environments that determine it — is the result of differences that are regional, cultural and political, with roots going back centuries to the people who arrived on the continent with totally different ideas about equality, the proper role of government, and the correct balance point between individual liberty and the common good. Once you understand how the country was colonized — and by whom — a number of insights into Americans’ overall health and longevity are revealed, along with some paths to improve the situation.
    • 23B1 3y ago
      Right – my comment about academic navel gazing was a critique of the article itself – which to me seems more self-promotional than academic anyway. The author references his own work no less then a dozen times, and fails to realize that he's applying the same colonial ideology he purports to skewer.