What happened to ‘Iowa nice?’

“Iowa Nice” used to mean that neighbors/strangers would stop on the highway to help with flat tires, out-of-gas errors, etc. It meant the neighbor who went door-to-door the day the blizzard cleared, offering to go to the nearby town on their snowmobile for any needed groceries. It was the neighbor who came to plow our drive because Dad was physically handicapped and unable to do so.

It meant if someone at the grocery store/restaurant was struggling to pay the bill, you stepped up and helped out. Even harvesting another farmer’s field and supplying groceries when that family is in need. It meant the index finger wave. A smile at strangers, family. Education was important for developing critical-thinking, preparing citizens of Iowa and the United States.

I don’t know where “Iowa Nice” has gone. Oh, there are still a few finger waves in small towns. But I have heard truly awful things said about strangers/immigrants.

I have watched our education system be gutted, allowing public monies to be used on private schools that may or may not develop future citizens.

I have seen the funding of the state hospital gutted to where it now seems to consider money over treatment. Laws passed to regulate private healthcare of several sorts: reproductive health and trans-care being two particular areas. We refuse to feed children with adequate summer programs. We make it more difficult to get medical aid, nutrition, education.

What happened to “Iowa Nice”?

Brenda Mayer

Iowa City