WHY I LOVE MISSOURI

Missouri.  It is my home.  I have lived here all of my life and honestly would not want to live anywhere else.

It is a beautiful state from the farmlands up north to the soft rolling hills on down to the wonderful Ozark Mountains, to the flood plain in the boothill.  You can see all manner of livestock as well as corn and wheat fields in the north central part of the state to vast cotton fields down south.

It is home to the last eastern city in St. Louis to the first western city in Kansas City.  Small towns with friendly folk pepper the whole state.  From the Arch to the Shuttlecocks and on down to Springfield.

This state birthed one of our greatest Presidents in Harry S Truman, who was born in Lamar and passed on in Independence.

The University of Missouri at Columbia is host to one of the highest academic programs in the land, known primarily for it School of Journalism.

The University of Missouri at Rolla is known as one of the best Engineering Universities in the nation, ranking right up near the top with MIT.

The state has a rich history.  It was the kick off point for the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  In St. Joseph, the Pony Express found its beginnings.  The Oregon and Santa Fe trails began in the Kansas City area.  The first Governor was William Clark himself after his travels with Merriwether Lewis were completed.  It has legends of political machines in the 20's to the 40's.

The Capitol building in Jefferson City sits high on a bluff over looking the wide Missouri River.

Yes, this great state has a proud heritage and the citizens who inhabit its lands are a proud people.  The people of this great state range from academia to hard workers and farmers, many of the people are all three.  Our state motto says a lot about the state.  "Show Me"  Don't bull me, don't try to pull things on me, don't lie to me, but SHOW ME.  Facts.  Truths.

We have a strong Confederate legacy and a strong Union legacy.  We produced some of the greatest music to come out of this country.  Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Joe Turner and Sheryl Crowe among many many others.  We produced some of the great athletes like Satchel Page, Buck O'Neil Norm Stewart and many many others.

We even gave you Brad Pitt .... you're welcome.

We produced many leaders such as Tom Eagleton, Harry Truman, Dick Bolling and Stuart Symington.

The James/Younger gang came out of the northern hills of Missouri.  The Pendergast machine was famous for it's control of Kansas City.

Artists such as Mark Twain and Thomas Hart Benton came from this wonderful place.

We are the heart of America and we are proud to be known as such.  We have a rich and diverse culture that rivals that of any state in the country.

Lately though, Missouri has come under fire and came close to imploding.  The cause of this were mostly lies brought about by outsiders.  A graduate student in Columbia made up a hoax that started a chain reaction at the University that they are still trying to overcome.  There is great diversity at the university and the falsehood of swatzikas on campus and pick up trucks full of rednecks threatening minority students have all been proven false.  Once that story gets out there though, it is hard to show the rest of the country the truth, especially when the liberal media continue to propagate the lies.

The main thing that has stained our reputation came out of Ferguson, a small town north of St. Louis.  Even though the facts contradict what the media and certain organizations continue to put out there,  The Ferguson incident was not a case of racist cops gone wild.  The facts get ignored though and now, many Citizens are starting to believe the falsehoods, at least thinking that there is partial truth to them.

Missouri will overcome all of this hype and lies eventually.  The true nature of the state will eventually come back out.  The people will be seen as good people who love this country just as much as anyone in the land.

It also, in my opinion, has the nicest looking State Flag in the country.

I love this place.  I was born here.  I will die here.  To this Missouri boy, it is the greatest part of the greatest nation on the face of the earth.  No one can take that away from me.