One Of Us

All of my life I’ve heard people talk about others, they would talk about the good they had done, them they would make a face and add; but, they just aren’t one of us! All through my growing-up years I learned that many would point to others and then say “but he, or she, or they were not one of us!” Many times I was shown those who were not, but I can’t remember being shown a one that was that one of us!
After a time I concluded that many were not quite as good, but no one really explained to me why! If I ask why, I usually was brushed off with answers like; oh they came from someplace else, or they came from a different country, even they dress funny, I was even told they go to a different church! Once I was told that “they” think funny!
In my mid life my family and I moved from the mid-western USA to the “Good Old Boy” south. It was there that I first learned that I talked funny! It was also there that it was brought forth to me that even I could be a “not one of us!” I also learned that one of this areas favorite reading materials was people! I’m sure you’ve heard someone say; “take care, they’ll read you like a book!” This is the area that saying came from! I guess too many came into this place trying to be someone they weren’t!
True friends are easy to come by around here. But, I learned that easy friendship was given with some reservation. It was made pretty clear that if I talked different, I probably would never end up a true “one of us!”
Several of my new friends worked hard and long hours. Many times I offered to help and my help was accepted. One evening after my work I was ask to help; the request was followed with a promise of an early morning “feed” after work was finished. It sounded like fun so of course I agreed.
We finished that night of hard work and then drove to one of my friend’s houses. We walked directly into the dining room and before us was a feast! I ask what the occasion was for all that food, and was told “it’s all for you Bob!” I was told that they were celebrating because they were no longer going to refer to me as a “Damn Yankee!” From now on I was just to be a Yankee! I had the feeling that I had been accepted! I felt like I was now “one of them!”
Then, I opened my mouth when I should have been listening!!! I ask how long it would take until they quit calling me a Yankee. My bubble burst when after a moment I was told “Bob you will not live that long!” I had just been told that I never could be a true “one of them!”
I had all but forgotten my Yankee experience until, the other day when it again was brought to my attention. In this area, many folks from colder climates come to spend their winters with us. We call them “Snow Birds.” I was told by a local; we appreciate those Snow Birds, but, you’ll notice there is usually a but before the next word; they just aren’t “one of us!”
Are we trying to tell the world that we think we’re better or different than the rest of the world? Are we saying that we don’t like strangers? Are we trying to build fences around ourselves to keep the rest of the world out?
For the better part of a century people have taught me to look for differences in people. Maybe, just maybe, we should start looking to find how alike we are! We all breathe the air around us. Isn’t that a good place to start? Doesn’t that make them “one of us?” Is it really necessary to carry that bloody knife of division every place we go?
My last question: are YOU really sure that you are “one of us?”