Be grateful for California

It is always concerning when labeling or generalizing masquerade as facts.

The “far-left” label is thrown at California far too often.

I lived there for 40 years before returning to Lexington to retire in 2013. Orange County is one of the most conservative counties in the U.S. Same for Imperial County and the whole San Joaquin Valley. San Diego is not a liberal city. It consistently elects Republican mayors. Some of the most conservative mega-churches are based in California. The Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco is extremely right-wing.

Granted, most of the country’s most progressive social and environmental legislation originated in California. But, guess what? Most of the states saw the light and eventually passed similar legislation.

So don’t label and bad-mouth California. Fortunately, it is still one of the few forward-thinking states in the union. All the rest are looking backward 50 or 60 years.

This story was originally published July 14, 2017 at 4:27 PM with the headline "Be grateful for California."