Kelsey Willman

Guest columnist

Kelsey Willman is a volunteer in Middle Tennessee for Elizabeth Warren for President. She has a master’s degree in public policy.

The myth of an insurmountable divide between rural and urban America spills out daily from the mouths of politicians and is amplified by national news outlets and social media feeds. We’ve been told that rural and urban areas are fighting for the same small pool of resources and there simply isn’t enough to go around.

Urban Tennessee residents are fighting for affordable housing, better schools and much-needed infrastructure upgrades. Rural Tennesseans are facing hospital closures, the full effects of the opioid crisis and struggling local economies.

We blame each other

With so much need in our communities, it’s easy to look for someone to blame for our problems, so we blame the community that looks different from our own. People living in rural communities stop being fellow Tennesseans and become ignorant, uneducated and unwilling to adapt to the times. Urban Tennesseans have become representative of liberal elites, out of touch with "real America" and not in line with the family values of our Bible Belt state. For years, we’ve been trapped in a cycle of blaming each other while our problems only get worse.

When Elizabeth Warren released her plan to invest in rural America, she moved us beyond that division. Her plan addresses the real issues rural communities face, like ensuring access to health care, stopping the opioid crisis, building economic security, access to high-speed internet, creating jobs, supporting small and local businesses, and building a new farm economy. Perhaps most importantly, Warren’s plan addresses rural issues without robbing resources from urban areas, assuring us that the fates of all Tennesseans are tied together.

She's got a plan for that

Much of Warren’s plan to invest in rural America is funded by her annual 2-cent wealth tax on fortunes over $50 million. Instead of forcing urban and rural communities to fight over an inadequately small pot of resources, Warren suggests we make the pot bigger by asking the ultra-wealthy to pay their fair share. She envisions a future where all communities thrive and are interconnected, where strong local farms and regional food systems feed city dwellers, and green manufacturing jobs power municipalities and revive rural economies. Better access to child care, education and affordable housing, along with support for entrepreneurs of all backgrounds, will encourage equitable growth and develop our state’s economy to benefit everyone.

Warren’s campaign is not about urban versus rural or the elites versus "real Americans." It’s not about the 1 percent versus the 99 percent. It’s about tackling the dysfunctional systems that led to serious problems in our communities, and creating big, structural change to address our shared challenges. It’s about a vision for America where all communities, rural and urban, can thrive and benefit from each other.

Kelsey Willman is a volunteer in Middle Tennessee for Elizabeth Warren for President. She has a master’s degree in public policy.