Print this

Nixa is Complicated

John Schmalzbauer

Posted: 09.08.2009 / 2:52 PM PDT

Dante Chinni’s latest piece (”Why schools in Nixa, Mo., won’t show Obama’s speech“) has sparked a lively debate about politics in the Ozarks, with some readers accusing Nixa of harboring “racists” and “nutcases.”  More than one Nixa resident was offended by these labels.  One person took “issue with many of the comments  (’racist,’ not a ‘normal human being,’ ‘crazy,’ ‘unreliable,’ ‘nutcases,’ ‘terrified’ etc.) people are making about us.”  Another emphasized Nixa’s ideological diversity, noting that “we’re not a city chock-full of crazed right-wing evangelicals.” 

In the interest of accuracy, I would like to list five reasons why Nixa is more complicated than some outsiders might imagine:

1. Though Nixa usually votes Republican,  it is not politically monolithic.  As I noted last last fall, some local conservatives are disillusioned with the drift of the GOP.  Support for the Libertarian and the Constitution parties is rising.  Though very active in the local tea parties, Libertarians have also taken some countercultural positions.  Today’s News-Leader reported on Springfield Councilman Doug Burlison’s effort to get rid of an ordinance banning solicitation of gay sex. 

In recent years, the Christian County Democratic Party has also gained strength.  Even in the distant past, Nixa was home to the occasional Democrat, including the late Edna Wasson, who served as postmaster from 1933 to 1972.  Elected during the Bicentennial year of 1976, Wasson was Nixa’s first female mayor.  During the 1990s, she gave regularly to the Democratic National Committee.  Beloved mother of Republican State Representative Jay Wasson, she bridged the New Deal and the Reagan generations.

2. The area’s religious community does not march in lock step to a single ideology.  Last fall I noted that the younger evangelicals at Springfield’s New Life Church were embracing a more progressive version of the faith.  Even among Ozarks evangelicals, there has been a range of responses to President Barack Obama.  While some have been quite critical, urging Christians to “go back to the culture war,” others have asked their flocks to pray for the new president.  A few area pastors have supported Obama’s call for universal health care.

3. The Nixa area is home to both friends and critics of the environmental movement.  Last month I reported that Nixa’s Espy Elementary is going green, dedicating the 2009-2010 school year to the theme of sustainability.  Lest conservatives think that Espy is indoctrinating students in liberalism, the previous year’s theme celebrated the five branches of the United States military.

4. In the wake of the Whole Foods boycott, it is worth noting that one of the most successful Nixa-area businesses caters to the granola crowd.  In 2009 the Springfield Business Journal named MaMa Jean’s Natural Foods Market one of its “dynamic dozen.” One of the 12 fastest growing companies in the region, MaMa Jean’s anchors the new Green Circle Shopping Center on the southern edge of Springfield, an “eco-friendly building project.” Reflecting this passion for natural and locally grown food, Ozarkers have also patronized area farmers (such as my friend Curtis Millsap) and organic restaurants (like Da Barefoot Chef in Ozark).  Millsap’s philosophy is based on two principles: ”God does it best” and “We are stewards of his gifts.” Many patrons of such establishments could be classified as “Crunchy Cons,” journalist Rod Dreher’s term for the “Birkenstocked Burkeans, gun-loving organic gardeners, evangelical free-range farmers, hip homeschooling mamas,” and “right-wing nature lovers” that have brought a countercultural spirit to the Republican Party. 

5. Some Ozarkers are sick of partisan bickering and labels.  This Sunday at Campbell United Methodist Church, Pastor Andy Bryan gave a passionate sermon on the need to avoid divisive rhetoric.  Earlier in the week, he elaborated on these themes in a blog.  Noting that “there are times that faithful Christians do not see eye to eye,” Bryan argued that “the way we handle that says a lot about us, probably even more than the idea over which we’re disagreeing.  We can even disagree about some pretty substantial things; if we can do so with respect and love for one another, we’re going to be okay.”

Though they come from the heart of the Evangelical Epicenter, Bryan’s words are a tonic for the American soul.  At the end of a contentious summer, we can agree to disagree.  If we can do so with respect and love, America will be okay.