You describe yourself as a researcher and writer on urban economics and planning issues. Well, you and I have something in common. After many years spent working in land-use and community development, I am still fascinated by it all. While working overseas, I pioneered a cultural planning process that proved equally effective in overcoming the constraints of zoning in the states. To date, everywhere it has been tried, getting rid of zoning has immediate economic benefits.

Most important to me, getting rid of zoning provided the means for low-income workers to become homeowners. Unfortunately, getting past the barriers that lenders rigidly control is a herculean effort. America needs some economic pioneers - fast.

When other people’s lives will be impacted by words written down on paper and passed into law, there is no excuse for sloppy language. I would rather a hundred people dissect my words and nit-pick the hell out of me, than have one badly chosen word hurt someone else.

The use of commas in our Constitution has a long and contentious history in our judicial system. Legal scholars debate commas endlessly. It seems silly, until you realize those commas decide cases in the highest court in the land. For example, a Supreme Court decision regarding gun laws was based on the use of commas in the second amendment.

I belabor the use of language, because I honestly believe that is the source of the ever-growing divide in our country. A lot of people are getting called “racists” based on their use of language on-line. People are comfortable speaking, but very uncomfortable writing. Like you, I wish liberals would get off their high horses, but that ain’t gonna happen.

For four years, liberals have been criticizing Trump’s use of language. Personally, I don’t think Trump knows what he is saying. He spends words like water. Trump wouldn’t spend a penny on language. Free speech, means words are free - right? Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names can never hurt me – right? Nope. That is wrong.

In 1872, one misplaced comma in a tariff law cost American taxpayers more than $38,350,000 (in today’s dollars). Thomas Jefferson was appalled by the grammatical errors in the Bill of Rights and Constitution written during his absence. While we have Jefferson’s corrections, it was too late. The Constitution had already been sent out for ratification – and you and I got stuck with our founding father’s grammatical errors.

If you and I use language poorly someone might call us names – like stupid, ignorant, uneducated or racist. But when our lawmakers use language poorly, they cause real harm to real people.

I think you know that your use of language invites a “racist” label. I think you used that language to taunt or “trigger” me to see how I react. Triggering people seems to be a conservative sport. I think you did that because you want to know if I am on your side or the other side. Unfortunately, this is the state of our on-line conversations these days. So, let me tell you the truth.

I don’t fit your frame. I live in small rural community. Unlike most rural communities we are thriving. Ranching, farming, aerospace and alternative energy are our primary industries. We have a new hospital, new high school and 200 affordable housing units under construction. We value education here and our schools are highly ranked. Our kids go to college, universities and Ivy League Universities. Unlike the brain drain in other rural communities, our kids come home.

In a community where 70% of voters are Republican, I am a well-known, vocal liberal who has been elected to public office by more than 64% of our voters – twice. I spent 15 years of my life developing a strategy, then leading an economic revitalization program in our community. Thanks to tenacity, the elimination of zoning opened the door to new high-paying jobs – 400 alternative energy jobs last year alone.

Thanks to our innovative land-use plans, the Dutch have invested tens of millions in high-tech agriculture projects here - bringing new, high-paying, full-time jobs along with them. Our once migrant farmworkers have settled down, bought homes and become respected members of our community.

Donald Trump did not do all this. Long before Trump was president, our community had already saved our own sorry asses.

I still can’t believe the difference between our town 35 years ago and today. We are the frigging Beverly Hills of rural America. You bet I’m proud of us. You bet your sweet bippy I’m bragging. We made our community great again. We did it because we love this land with a fierceness, city dwellers cannot imagine. I am moving to Kentucky and leaving this land is painful; my grief is deep. I buried my beloved here.

Did I mention I own guns? Did I mention I can shoot a running rabbit in the eye from a quarter of a mile? Did I mention, I oppose guns in cities? Did I mention the black ranchers, cowboys, or Peruvian sheep herders here? Did I mention our performing arts theatre, rodeo grounds and airport? Did I mention our victory after a ten-year legal battle that forced Walmart to pay their own way, instead of dumping development costs on local taxpayers? Did I mention we have fiber optic internet connections here? Did I mention hundreds of citizens attend city council, school board and other public meetings here? Did I mention the hundreds of backpackers who are now coming to town to eat in our restaurants, stay in our hotels, buy supplies from our local retailers and pick up their mail? Money, money, money spent in our town.

30 years ago, we were a dying town - boarded up windows, empty stores, factories and buildings, fucking meth labs hidden on our mountains, an aging population, such lousy schools the state was seeking receivership, a hospital on the edge of bankruptcy and housing prices diving ever downward. It was awful. People were so depressed, so hopeless and so afraid. The remedy was a good strong dose of rural liberalism. As they say, the proof is in the pudding.