This spring, I was strapping saplings to bamboo stakes at my farm in middle Georgia. Alongside, an old pickup truck stopped. A man got out and worked his way toward me. He was a 40-plus year resident of Johnson County, passing by to check on his hunting property.
He greeted me with, “I hate to stop a man from working,” before asking what I was doing. I replied that I was planting olive trees. “That’s great,” he said. “We need more economic development around here.”
The conversation highlighted what urbanites often overlook about our rural neighbors: an instinctual embrace of the dignity and value of hard work and an overdue need to invest in rural communities.
Credit: Special to AJC
Credit: Special to AJC
As an Atlanta City Councilman who represents the most urban parts of the state, I am an unlikely voice on rural Georgia. Yet, I think about bridging the rural-urban divide a lot. I think about it when I talk to my farm neighbors and when I drive past mobile homes and beautiful farmsteads. I think about it when I stop at the gas station in Adrian, which is as much a community center as it is a place to fill up. I think about it when I’m home in Atlanta, where economic development has been a professional sport since Reconstruction.
Atlantans don’t think much about the rest of the state. This is a regrettable impediment to growth. While our differences are real, they are smaller than we think. They are also not insurmountable – unless you believe in our corrosive, winner-take-all political climate: Us versus Them. Good versus Evil. Rural versus City.
I reject this mindset. My own party (Democrat) is missing an opportunity to chart a brighter future for our state by championing rural life. Here’s four ways we can.
1.) Show up with earnestness and authenticity. Just like the gentleman who stopped me in the field, showing up matters. Meet people where they are, listen and discover shared interests -- and where politics and policy have failed rural communities. My neighbors and I might not always see eye-to-eye, but we look out for one another because we need each other. That all started with a conversation.
That’s how things ought to work. And, away from cable news and social media, that’s how much of America works. But politicians don’t treat each other or Americans this way. We need to listen to what keeps people up at night and speak to it. We have more in common than what the media tells us.
2.) Prioritize the dignity and value of a hard day’s work. Most progressive policy positions benefit rural communities: Medicaid expansion, infrastructure investments, higher teacher salaries, the child tax credit and more. These policies increase opportunities to do an honest day’s work.
I’ve gotten to know a young man who runs his own land clearing company, logging more than 200,000 miles on his Ford F-350 in two years. He works his tail off. But he’s happy as can be. Full of pride at his business. He just wants an opportunity to succeed.
My friend probably doesn’t vote like me and I get it. The Republican narrative of “valuing hard work” outweighs the Democrats’ reputation for safety-net support and over-regulation.
The Democrats’ rural problem is not policy. It’s communication. Drop the fuzzy jargon and embrace reflections heard around the kitchen table. Urban or rural, we all want to provide for our families. Empower people to flourish through hard work. There’s nothing wrong with extending a helping hand to those who help themselves, whether it’s less regulation or a financial boost.
3.) Jobs for all geographies. Cities are where most jobs are, but not everyone wants to live in one. My Middle Georgia neighbors wouldn’t trade quiet nights and dirt roads for a Michelin-starred restaurant or a shorter drive to Mercedes-Benz Stadium. I respect that (and often agree). Don’t mistake a slower pace of life for slower thinking. Some of the wisest, sharpest people I’ve met live far from metro Atlanta.
Democrats need to create opportunities for those who want to build a life in rural Georgia. It may be tourism investments, capitalizing on remote work, attracting new manufacturing facilities, preserving farmland, strengthening schools, or ensuring that everyone in the Peach State can log onto the internet at the same speed as someone in Alpharetta. Lower the barriers to entrepreneurship, increase incentives for rural job creation and new housing, eliminate longstanding racial inequities and support medical professionals and teachers who want to live in rural communities. The list goes on.
4.) Grow baby, grow. Agriculture is our largest industry and still has untapped potential. Georgia is blessed with fertile soils, water, a long growing season and some of America’s best farmers. Agriculture should not be a partisan issue. Yet, Democrats have made it so by ignoring it. Support our farmers of all sizes. Fight for market access. Supercharge the Georgia Grown program. Fund our academics to optimize precision ag and explore what crops will flourish in warmer weather. Recruit and support young farmers. We are all part of Georgia’s agriculture economy. Champion it.
Mutual respect. Humility as we share our values. Forging more than one road to success. These are the building blocks. Democrats should provide support when needed and – better yet – know when to get out of the way. Because as my neighbor would say, “I hate to stop a Georgian from working.”
A 9th-generation Georgian, Amir Farokhi serves on the Atlanta City Council.
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