I grew up hearing the saying, “Live hard and play hard.” How about someone who claims to live tightly or loosely? When I read about “loose people,” my thoughts immediately shifted. I’m guessing yours did, too.
Professors and academics around the country are investigating whether individuals are living a tighter or looser lifestyle. Michele Gelfand (author of ‘Rule Makers, Rule Breakers – How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World’) defined the distinction between tight and loose states.
Washington was included alongside California, Oregon, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
The Tight states were Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky, South and North Carolina, Nevada, and Hawaii.
Most Washington State residents are open and willing to compromise on a wide range of issues, including individual rights, residential zoning, and town regulations.
Some may read this and believe it is another way of categorizing states as red or blue.
Whether you love it or hate it, Washington State has skewed “loose” in recent decades.
Our wonderful nation, the United States, has become deeply divided. It breaks my heart to read about Americans on both sides of the aisle demonizing those who do not share their beliefs. I don’t mind debating. I do not mind core beliefs that differ from mine. I simply want us as a society to discuss this respectfully.
If we went to war or had a national crisis that harmed our people, I would immediately jump in and assist my fellow Americans, regardless of their political or religious beliefs.
We here in the Wenatchee Valley are at the crossroads of deeply held views about what is right and wrong. Our essential principles and ideals are expressed openly. This is the wonderful personality of the numerous people who call the Wenatchee Valley home. You can identify it as loose or tight. You are an American. Please engage with respect and simply listen to what the other side says.