Misconceptions About Appalachia
Following are several common misconceptions of Appalachian people, along with some information to help set the record straight.
"The problem in Appalachian is poverty."
Statistically there is probably a higher percentage of low-income people here than most other places in our country. But there are two problems with this statement.
- Strictly speaking, poverty is seldom the real problem; it is a consequence or effect of a deeper problem. According to the Bible, it can be caused by laziness (Prov. 6:10-11; 21:25, II Thess. 3:10), God's judgment (Amos 4:6-9), oppression (James 2:1-6), or injustice (Ex. 23:1-3). The poverty resulting from these things can often cause secondary problems that contribute to more poverty. To identify the real problem, however, one must ask what is causing the poverty in the first place. This will often require us to consider each case individually.
- Only the broadest definition would qualify the conditions in Appalachia as poverty. If we define poverty as "The state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support" (Webster), true poverty is relatively rare in Appalachian, except in cases where children are neglected. On the other hand, if we define poverty merely by comparing the income levels to middle class Americans outside the region, we can easily see how one might apply the label of poverty to this region.
But such a field of comparison is far too narrow. The poor throughout history and even in third world countries today are really poor. By these standards, it would be much more difficult to find true poor people in Appalachia. They generally have some means of support from churches or government. And considering the amount of goods many low-income Americans possess (four-wheelers, cars, TVs, stereos, etc), most third world poor people would be puzzled to hear them labeled as poor.
What is the real problem?
The problems in Appalachia are complex and vary among individuals. With some it is laziness. They simply don't want to work. Others have a desire to be upwardly mobile but because of a lack of confidence they are overcome by hopelessness. Some have never seen their own family members act responsibly and overcome obstacles. Still others are disabled for various reasons, ranging from work injuries to poor diet and drug use. The deeper problem is of course a spiritual one.
By and large, however, people here tend have their most basic needs met. If they don't, there are almost always church or government organizations that will meet them. In many cases the deeper problem is dependence on these organizations. One of the challenges we face as a church is our inability to compete with the government and liberal-minded churches. In our efforts to address root problems, we follow Biblical principles that require certain things of those who receive help. These requirements are designed to help people, by God's grace, make their way out of bad circumstances. But our kind of help is not easy, and therefore not popular. Changing deeply ingrained mindsets and habits is difficult. It is not attractive when there are many places that will continue to give handouts with no strings attached. This is one of our greatest challenges to giving real help to people in need. We find that people simply don't want this kind of help.
"There are no good churches in this area."
We try to be careful to maintain that there are churches here that love Christ and preach the gospel of grace. We believe that God has a church here. We are not the only Christians. There are pastors who do a good job of instructing their congregations in the Word of God. We are not here because all the churches are false churches and we are the only true one.
We are here because we think we have something unique to offer this community. We do not apologize for believing that the Reformed Faith is the purest expression of Biblical doctrine in the church today. Particularly, we believe that the richness of Reformed Theology can have a tremendous impact on the unique problems of this area. We do not try to pull other Christians from good churches. Our primary focus is reaching those who are outside of the visible church. However, we believe there are believers in some congregations who are not being fed. We welcome the opportunity to minister to these precious sheep in any way we can.
"The people here are very religious."
Yes and no. There is a tremendous cultural respect for Christianity among Appalachian people. There is widespread professed belief in the Bible, whether the person attends church or not. Yet it would be wrong to say that all of these professions equal true Christianity. Much of what goes by the name of Christianity would be more accurately classified as a Folk Religion, often characterized by tradition. This Folk Religion maintains a fierce commitment to the Bible, while lacking a real understanding of what the Bible actually teaches. It has a tendency to be legalistic and moralistic. Brief and surface exposure to Appalachian people may convince the average outsider that the church situation is healthy, especially visitors coming from outside the Bible belt. Yet it is one of the most common errors to equate the "god talk" so prevalent in this region with true and vibrant Christianity. Sometimes a little religion is worse than no religion.
"Most of the poor people are on welfare."
Very few people in Letcher County are on welfare. Most of those who draw a check are on Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This is a type of disability. The problem here is that people can more easily live off of the SSI check than other places. A person living in an urban area would probably find it difficult to survive on such little income. Here one can move in with family or park a trailer behind a relative's house and survive. To supplement this SSI check, they can make the rounds to the many food pantries and clothing handouts. This provides steady income, with the advantage of having 24 hours a day to themselves. If extra cash is needed, there are odd jobs and other means of generating additional tax-free income. All of these "perks" make for a lifestyle that offers little incentive to get well. Since these practices are so common, there is very little social pressure to get off the check and make a living.
"People on the check have it made."
When criticizing the situation, we sometimes here people say, "Boy, it must be nice to draw a check and not have to work for a living." No it isn't. Living off a check is not the good life. Loss of dignity, bad health, depression, hopelessness, etc., are commonplace among those who have become dependent on the state's handouts. God does not bless this lifestyle. Furthermore, this has a tragic effect on children. There is untold damage being done to the next generation of children growing up in a home where they never see the parents earn a living.
"All the people in Appalachia are the same."
One of the worst mistakes an outsider can make is to lump all the people in Appalachia together. The common "hillbilly" stereotypes accompanied by the standard jokes are unfair and can be extremely offensive to Appalachian people. In many respects, Appalachia is just like other places in our country. There are hard working, responsible people and there are "poor" people. The difference between Appalachia and other places is often where the poor people live. In large metropolitan areas there tend to be clear geographical divisions between the rich and poor. In Appalachia these divisions are rare. Beautiful houses are found right next door to run down shacks. Well kept yards border overgrown lots with used cars and other debris scattered around debilitated trailers.
Since the area attracts such a large number of relief efforts, it is very easy to fail to make distinctions between those who are responsible and hard working and those who are not. First-time visitors are often shocked to see locals driving new cars and living in nice houses. They are surprised to find people living in the mountains who are much the same as people anywhere else in the country. We must be careful to avoid generalizations that offend the responsible hard working locals. Often they are as much concerned about the problems as anyone else. We must also remember that not everyone on the check is abusing the system. Like anywhere else, there are truly disabled people who need help.