Let Us Pray for Oklahoma.

Now — before any of you think I’m “going” a particular direction on this — let me say:

I’m not commenting on the specific state of Oklahoma.

With all of its isolation and over-looked qualities… I’m sure they’ll be pleased (and shocked) to know that they are actually a symbol for the broader country.

Well… a symbol for all of “forgotten” America. Because, for reasons I’ll go into, Oklahoma’s a unique case in history. But you could also substitute it for any state in the Plains, in the other half of the Rocky Mountains… within the middle of the country.

Middle Earth… oh, I mean America:

If you weren’t aware… for decades before the 2010’s, there was a bipartisan descriptor for this giant swath of landmass: fly-over country.

Why? Because historically (and up to this day), there’s far more travel between the East and West Coast — and between them and Chicago — than anywhere else in the Continental 48.

Partially because of this, and partially because of history… the United States and Canada are actually the rare developed countries that have a vast people-to-land differential.

Meaning what, some of you ask? Meaning despite superior land mass, and therefore territory… there’s the most uneven population distribution across that land.

Some densely populated, some the suburbs, and a lot more empty and “left behind.”

So, the densely populated states have the political and economic upper hand… but this “fly-over country” has a ton more land.

It’s a hard truth for us coastal people to think — or understand — that they actually are “forgotten.” And the area in question is probably twice as much territory to forget about.

The Exceptions of California and Texas:

Now, the astute ones of you are yelling out a glaring omission from all statements above. Ok, ok — lost in this discussion is one of the most culturally-relevant states. Yes, even if its relevance is controversial.

As was sung in a musical once: “My whole solar-plexus, it’s bigger than…” What? Texas!

Yes, oh yes, it’s Texas. Haha! Ok, I’ll stop now.

Anyway….

Texas is the third most populous state. Only behind California and New York.

Why do I say it’s a culturally relevant state, though? Because cultural relevance might sound like it should mean one thing… but it has nothing to do with what’s right or wrong, a good idea or a bad idea.

No, relevance means that a large subset of the population thinks it’s important. Or it helps the larger society.

So, it’s not really a matter of opinion. At least not a matter of majority opinion. If something is relevant, than saying so is just a political fact.

So… as a matter of political fact… would you not say that California, Texas, and New York are the three most relevant states in America?

So California and Texas, for all their differences… are actually both exceptions to the rule. They are among the largest and have population sizes to match.

And again, why is that? History. With a little bit of religion and politics mixed in.

Back to the Beginning:

Oklahoma, by contrast… if it weren’t for the blockbuster musical of its own several decades ago, it might be the least relevant state. Period.

Why? Well… same thing. But here, in what they also used to call “middle America,” the twain really shall meet.

Or the… “thrain?” I don’t know, I’m talking like it’s three things, but really it’s kinda just two: history and politics.

You see, Oklahoma is north of Texas, sharing a border.

So, while you might think it was just made a state after, or carved away from Texas’ original territory… no.

I thought the same thing, everybody probably thought the same thing… but no.

As important as history is… it wasn’t a history class that opened my eyes to this. It was Native American Studies.

Yes, this gets into something us Americans were not supposed to understand.

We can call each other unpatriotic, or irresponsible — disagree about government until the cows come home — but you can’t look at your country the same way again once you understand the history of the Natives. Or “First Nations” as they’re called in Canada.

Even a few decades ago, this was probably the most controversial topic around. Why? Well, for one thing, it’s uncomfortable.

Not only did Columbus, or the Vikings, not “discover” North America… there was already a multitude of societies engrained here.

Over 570, believe it or not! Over 570 self-governing “nations” in the land territories that are now the United States. Let that sink in….

So, way too much to touch on now. But you’ve heard of the “Trail of Tears,” no doubt? What actually was it?

Well, to anyone who’s studied the subject, a shameful, shameful thing that we should never forget as part of our history.

Long story short, after westward expansion set in… the colonists started to think that maybe the “Original 13 Colonies” and everything around them wasn’t enough anymore.

So, bit by bit, they started saying… “Oh, actually we want that.” “Oh, I guess we want that, too.” They made new treaties with the tribes, to replace the ones they were now breaking. And the men promised this time, if they just moved more inland… this time they’ll leave them alone.

Well, it doesn’t take a genius to see where this is going, right?! Well, I guess it did back then. Because soon they finally understood about how large our continent really is… and they still couldn’t help themselves.

Better to just run the tribespeople off in one fell swoop, then. Their populations were already crashing, because of unknown and unseen diseases. So all the easier.

Where did they all go? A mass subdivided territory smack dab in the middle of the country (more or less). A territory they soon called Oklahoma!

That’s right. Oklahoma was actually the last big slap in the face to the indigenous people. A slap in the face twice over. Because the “Trail of Tears” was when they were forcibly relocated there.

And then it was never supposed to be a state! That’s right. It was still supposed to be reservation land, even after everywhere else was incorporated.

That scar across our culture has never healed. The Supreme Court did finally rule several years ago that half of all Oklahoma, including the largest city of Tulsa, is in fact “Indian Land.”

Did you even hear of that before? It might be the most Earth-shattering ruling in decades… but also does it really mean anything?

The people of Oklahoma certainly haven’t lived their lives any differently since. But it’s super important culturally. One small acknowledgement on the government’s part of the dark history behind our shining ideals.

I haven’t even had the opportunity to mention that it’s in what’s known as “Tornado Alley.” It’s also a hot-bed of natural disasters. Maybe there’s a spiritual reason for that?

Shout out to the 1996 classic movie Twister!

So… Oklahoma is far more representative of America as we want to believe.

So it’s with no sarcasm, mocking, or malice when I say… in whatever way you believe… let us pray for Oklahoma. 🙏💜