In response to Professor Stephen Bloom,

I must start out by saying, it’s a Cyclone state. I’ve seen a lot of articles with titles such as “Bloom bashes Hawkeye state,” and this is totally inaccurate. This year, we have ourselves a Cyclone state (football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball victories). Now that we have that clear, I want to address the absurdity that is Bloom’s article, “Observations from 20 years of Iowa life.”

In trying to convince the nation that Iowa rednecks are totally inept people who shouldn’t be given the responsibility of something as important as a national caucus, Bloom incited a lot of strong responses in Iowan people. Most of these responses were anger, with some disbelief and laughter mixed in. Not only were many of the stereotypes inaccurate and rude, but I think Professor Bloom totally missed the mark on what he was trying to accomplish, which was ill-intended in the first place.

It is clear that Bloom uses very elaborate, vivid imagery in his writing. He relies on his eloquent wording to try and dupe readers into buying what he is selling, to paint a much skewed picture of our great state, serving to validate his personal opinions. It is also clear to me that Professor Bloom hasn’t gained much out of his 20 years of living in Iowa (other than writing a book about, go figure, Iowa). And that, which he did gain, is simply a bunch of insignificant traditions and social customs, many misunderstood. I want to deflate some of his ridiculous, overinflated stereotypes.

Mr. Bloom starts his slew of insults with a grotesque statement about Iowa’s river cities being “some of the skuzziest cities I’ve ever been to.” Maybe the only places he has lived are East Hampton, N.Y., and Boca Raton, Fla. But I doubt it, and so I don’t quite understand this statement. My hometown of Dubuque is among those “skuzzy” river cities Bloom speaks of. I won’t pretend Dubuque is Beverly Hills, Calif., but I would never use a word like skuzzy or slum to describe it. We have a fine city, with art and culture, three colleges and a museum dedicated to our rich history. Is there poverty? Sure there is, just the same as there is all over our country.

Bloom goes on to describe our political landscape as “schizophrenic.” I wasn’t aware that being a divided swing state implied schizophrenia. The generalization that eastern Iowans are Democrats while western Iowans are “rabid” Republicans is fairly accurate, but there is no imaginary line that cannot be crossed without being shot at by the opposing party with all of our turkey-hunting rifles. In eastern Iowa, where I live, there are also conservatives in abundance.

Bloom says, “Whether a schizophrenic, economically-depressed, and some say, culturally-challenged state like Iowa should host the first grassroots referendum to determine who will be the next president isn’t at issue.” Well, being as this is the purpose (or so it seems among rambling rhetoric) of the article, this statement doesn’t make much sense. Bloom goes on to describe how wacky it is to have a state like Iowa considered as representative of our country, since we are so foreign, like aliens compared to the rest of America. Iowa is in fact fairly representative of the Midwest, which is a large region of America. Would it make any more sense for, say Utah, to represent our country? No one state is representative of our whole country. This seems like an obvious fact, yet something out of Bloom’s grasp of comprehension. Never mind the fact that Iowa was the second state in the country to allow gay marriage, ahead of his home state, the uber-liberal California. And forget that Iowa played a crucial role in catapulting our first African-American president into office. How’s that for “culturally-challenged”?

“The bulk of jobs here are low-income ones most Iowans don’t want.” This claim is totally unsubstantiated. With three excellent public universities, many private universities including Grinnell (known informally as the Harvard of the Midwest), the large insurance industry of Des Moines and many other large corporations and small businesses, it is nowhere reasonable to say the “bulk” of jobs in Iowa are low income. According to the 2010 Census, Iowa has a poverty rate of 11.8 percent compared to a national rate of 14.3 percent. The median income in Iowa falls within $2,000 of the national median, which is quite a small margin of difference. Based on those statistics, I don’t see how the claim can be made that most Iowa jobs are “low-income” that are undesirable. Bloom then finishes this section discussing our suicide rate, calling us all alcoholics and crapping on our health care. Perhaps he is unaware that the fine public university he called his place of employment for 20 years also has a top 10 medical school.

Professor Bloom clearly has a problem with religion. He brings it up multiple times. I have to say, while I can’t deny religion is important to many Iowans, I have never discussed it with a complete stranger and rarely even close friends. Religion may be a common topic among families, but that is true of many religions all around the world. We don’t learn religion in our public schools, nor do we discuss it.

Bloom is full of contradictions. Bloom contradicts himself when he paints a picture of country bumpkins talking in a thick, redneck accent, and then later goes on to describe our coveted Iowa accent, or lack thereof, and its desirability in broadcast journalism. Also, while many young Iowans may leave our great state to explore the world and gain new experiences, this is by no means true of all or a majority of college graduates. This is another example of Bloom contradicting himself. He talks about Iowans being too stupid and timid to leave, and then turns around and goes on and on about how many young college graduates are leaving. He just can’t get his story straight. Bloom also alleges that Iowa’s public universities can’t fill their lecture halls, when in fact, this past year (2011) there was a record high of enrollment at Iowa State University, with many new students being placed in temporary housing due to such a high demand. We have another false statement, based on his opinions, rather than facts.

Bloom criticizes Iowans for not being ostentatious. He believes no Iowan has enough money for a fancy house or a fancy car, and if we did we wouldn’t dare show it off. While it’s true you don’t find as many BMWs or Mercedes in Iowa as you will in California, that doesn’t mean that people can’t afford them. Perhaps some people are sensible enough to buy a modest car that gets them where they need to be and save money, a concept lost on people constantly chasing material goods to validate themselves, like so many today.

My family doesn’t collect a thing, enter our home through our backdoor or have a mudroom, and neither do most people I know. I don’t wear hats (except in the winter outside), and I know lots of farmers with perfectly intact limbs and digits (my extended family members included). I’ve never eaten deer meet or even heard of Red Waldorf cake. And I’ve certainly never taken a dish to a wedding reception to share – maybe a family reunion, but never a wedding reception. Corn detasseling does take place, but definitely not by “most, if not all” teenagers. This may have been true when my parents were teenagers, but not anytime in the last 20 years.

I find it hard, if not impossible, to believe that anyone in the city limits of Iowa City would ever question Bloom walking his dog as to whether or not his bitch hunts well. Maybe in Epworth, Iowa, the small town where I went to high school. But Iowa City? I’m going to have to call shenanigans.

My point in going through the ridiculous stereotypes Bloom has acclaimed is that while some of them may be true, he misses the mark on the important issues. In stereotyping Iowans, he is perpetuating the concept of prejudice, judging people based on perceived qualities that may or may not apply. There is no stereotypical American. Some Iowans may cling to religion and guns, and many rural factory workers have lost their jobs. Some farmers have lost their land to banks and agribusiness. There are no doubt illegal immigrants working in subpar conditions and receiving wages that do not compensate fairly for their work. But isn’t this the image of so much of rural America right now? These problems he outlines aren’t Iowa problems, but rather they are American problems. You will find the same economic and political issues from Kentucky to Kansas, Texas to Tennessee, and Alaska to Alabama.

One thing Bloom did get right, though, is his visualization of a safe place with honest, hard-working, friendly people. I can’t see a problem with people moving over so you can merge onto the interstate, or living among people so honest that you can leave your keys in your car when you run into a gas station. I thoroughly enjoy living in a place where kids can safely play outside, and where I can breathe the air without breathing in smog. Call me crazy.

Bloom has defended himself by saying that people always reject uncomfortable truths, and the fact that so many people are upset is simply the result of him being such an exceptional journalist. There’s no possibility that people are upset because he has largely embellished, exaggerated and flat-out lied about so many things to paint a self indulgent image of Iowa that serves only to validate his own opinions? Bloom also implied that most of us are too stupid to even read his article, but rather just gathered comments and ideas off of Facebook and got ourselves all fired up – a great defense.

Well, sure, Bloom might retort. You’re just some country bumpkin from Iowa, too. Well, not so fast. I’m a college-educated, world-traveled young adult, who has also lived in the likes of Los Angeles. I’ve seen a lot of different ways of life. Is Iowa different than California? Absolutely. But are our fundamental problems, economic and political, exclusive to Iowa? No way. The economic downturn, the political division, the focus on hot button topics like abortion and gun laws are NOT strictly problems of Iowa, but rather those of America. Bloom is an elitist. He looks at the problems we have, and uses decorative imagery and eloquent words to paint this dramatic picture for the non-Iowan, which is not only offensive, but largely false. To Bloom I would say, if you don’t want to live here, to like our people, our customs and our way of life, that’s fine by me, but you will be hard-pressed to find nicer people anywhere in the country. Oh, and merry Christmas!