Oklahoma, where we live is a poor state, and is as red as the hard red clay soil. It has two major metropolitan areas, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. It takes eight to ten hours to drive from the panhandle to the far southeast corner of the state, with many rural miles in between. When people first came to Oklahoma Territory many years ago they didn’t have neighbors. The state was formed through a series of land runs and land lotteries. They were truly rugged people. The conditions were harsh. Many came to the new territory of Oklahoma to find a new life, a new beginning on free land. The pioneer spirit that brought people here so many years ago still lives today. This hardness carries through every aspect of the state’s culture. The fierce independent streak is embedded into all areas of life and will likely always be there. This independence makes it hard for families who need help from sources other than their neighbors, friends and family to seek the information or help that they need. Mention the word government programs and people go on tirades saying, “OH, if they had just saved more money”, or “Those lazy ignorant bums”, “What’s the matter with you?” or, ”Just pull yourself up and move on.” Maybe they will say, “Where is your pride?”, “You don’t need any handouts from the government,” or “This is your punishment from God.”
I have lived in Oklahoma all my life and until our son was born I never realized that Oklahoma had one of hardest government systems to navigate anywhere in the country. The attitude of “the system knows best” assumes you are an uneducated, ignorant, poor soul who needs the government’s help. This attitude is about as outdated as a Victorian costume. The tide fortunately is changing, but very slowly, and it might be another 20 years before there is even a hint of “Blue” on the horizon.
This is not to say there are not a lot of good people living in the state because there are. Oklahoma is the heart of the Bible belt and the religious connection plays a big part in the attitudes of the people. The missionaries who came to Oklahoma territory saw this area as an untapped gold mine. They brought everything from hell fire and brimstone, to the rituals of the Roman Catholic, to the speaking in tongues of the Pentecostals, and everything in between.
The impact of living in a red state with a child with a disability can be like running into a brick wall, not only for the family, but also for the child. The state is constantly struggling to make ends meet and there is never enough revenue to pay for services to meet everyone’s needs. The families who move here due to the military are particularly hard hit. Since Medicaid services vary from state to state, with wide gaps what they had in place in one state will not always be available in another one.
The 1980’s were particularly hard on Oklahomans due to the crash in the Energy Industry. It was our wakeup call to start diversifying industry in the state. But to do that the quality of the education has to be superior. Oklahoma has some 546 school districts that are spread out in every small dot in the road. The dollars are not there to get teachers, books, or even enough students in some cases to fill the school. Now it is 2023 and the state is still depending on the energy industry to carry it along, many schools have not been consolidated, and the Oklahoma Legislature keeps cutting taxes thinking this is going to generate more dollars to pay for services that are now becoming nonexistent due to the lack of revenue to pay for them. The legislature doesn’t seem to get it. They continue to rely on one industry, put no money into fixing the schools, and have some pie- in- the- sky idea that industry is going to run to the state.
Oklahoma puts very little of its money into education and until the quality of education is improved the state will continue to stagnate. It is not to say there are not intelligent up and coming young adults out there. The University of Oklahoma had the highest per capita of National Merit scholars in the country for a public university at one time, the only problem is there are no industries or businesses to keep them here after they graduate. The largest employers are state government, universities, Tinker Air Force Base and Fort Sill Army base in Midwest City and Lawton respectfully.
The quality of education is also very sporadic and unequal depending on where you live. This might be true everywhere, but especially in Oklahoma where each school district has its own superintendent. Schools in the panhandle for example don’t even come close to the same quality of education one would receive in the large metro areas of Oklahoma City or Tulsa. This is the same if someone in the family needs outside services to keep going. This is especially true if you need special help at school. Most children in special education didn’t have the same fine teachers and program that our son,Thomas had. They were very rare even in the large populated towns.
The kindness of the people in Oklahoma has been shown in times of crisis such as the Alfred P. Murrah Buidling Bombing in 1995. Oklahoma set an example to the rest of the country for the proper way to react when bad things happen. There was no looting or burning of buildings or people rioting. Just a community coming together to support people who had lost so much in a senseless tragic act.
In the end there is still that fierce independent streak, it is not all bad, but can be a detriment at times. The people who have lived here all their lives most likely had relatives who lived here before them. And the beat of life goes on and on and on…
The Journey with Thomas 