To Be a West Virginian

Throughout our lifetimes, we acquire and are defined by titles – son or daughter, father or mother, student or teacher, friend, neighbor, citizen.  I recall being profoundly proud and excited the day I gained the title grandfather, and I have been humbled each and every time the people of our State have seen fit to grant me the title Representative.   But there may be no title that better defines the whole of my being than West Virginian.

To be a West Virginian is to cherish independence.  We believe in the freedom to speak our minds, to pray when and where we want and, yes, to own a gun.   We believe in the freedom to disagree with our own government when we see fit.  And, what’s more, we’ll fight for the freedom of the other guy to disagree with us.

To be a West Virginian is to feel connected to the earth.  We cherish the natural surroundings God saw fit to plant us in.  We feel comforted and secure to look out across the way and see mountains.  Wide open flat lands are nice places to visit, but….

To be a West Virginian is to demand much of ourselves – to labor from dawn to dusk, and beyond, day in and day out, with simply an expectation of fair compensation and just treatment in return.  We do not fear hard work, we relish it.

In West Virginia, we fully expect others to take responsibility for themselves, to do their duty, to stand on their own two feet.  But to be a West Virginian is also to be compassionate. Our past abounds with stories of men and women who labored long and hard for a simple home, for the shoes on their kids’ feet and the bread on the family supper table.  But our history is made rich by the stories of the families who took half of what little they had and shared it with others who had even less. 

To be a West Virginian is to be able to laugh at ourselves from time to time.  But Heaven help the guy from New York, or North Dakota, or California who makes cracks wise at our expense.  He’ll soon learn what it is to take on West Virginians.

Never before have I seen more people try to dissect our State, debate about us, and attempt to explain us than in recent months.  Try as they might to decipher just what it is to be a West Virginian, so very many have gotten it so very wrong.   Being a West Virginian means to defy the prognosticators, to break the mold, to elude those who would attempt to fit us neatly into any hard-and-fast category, political or otherwise.  

Throughout my career of public service, I have been, always, guided by the values and the ideals that are uniquely West Virginia.   I have fought to ensure that our kids have access to quality education and that our veterans have nearby access to health care.  I have fought to protect Social Security and Medicare to ensure that our seniors could retire in dignity.  I have fought to bring clean, drinkable water to thousands of West Virginia homes and businesses, and I have battled to build safer, more modern highways and bridges, railways and air service for our State.   I have fought for the jobs and safety of our coal miners, but I have also fought for the futures of their children.   My battle on all of these worthy fronts continues.

I believe with all my being in West Virginia.  I believe that our future is bright.  I believe that the potential for our families and businesses is boundless.  And I believe, I truly believe, that our children and grandchildren have wonderful, rewarding opportunities and full, exciting lives ahead of them, as long as they never lose sight of just what it is to be a West Virginian.

U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV) represents West Virginia’s Third Congressional District.  For more information, contact Diane Luensmann at (202) 225-3452, or visit http://rahall.house.gov.

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