Absolutely FANTASTIC Letter to the Editor; "Leaving Defiance (Ohio) County"

[maxrandb]

https://www.crescent-news.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/letters-to-the-editor/article_97bfed33-ace4-4292-bdec-bf8e1808fa77.html

My God this is a great LTE.

"I am one of many young adults who plan to leave Defiance County as soon as I am able. That decision did not come lightly, but it has become clear.

People often ask why so many young adults leave small towns like ours. The answer is not complicated. It is not just about jobs. It is about mindset.

Defiance has built a culture that resists growth while simultaneously complaining about stagnation. New ideas are often treated as threats. Different perspectives are labeled as disruptive. Progress is framed as unnecessary change. When a community repeatedly chooses the same leadership, the same priorities, and the same narrow vision for its future, it should not be surprised when nothing improves."

Rest is at the link.

If you stomach it, check out the LTE The Crescent News ran after this one. Combined they are a "Mic Drop" on MAGAt 'Murika

My God!! This young woman speaks for me.

[Ocelot II]

1. Paywall.

[maxrandb]

3. Sorry, the link worked for me. Maybe you get one freebie

I don't know how to make it available for all, but it's a shame, because it is great.

If the DU rules about 4 paragraphs don't apply to letters to the editor, I will post the hole letter and delete the link.

[leftieNanner]

4. I didn't have any problems. Nt

[hunter]

11. I didn't it a paywall. Usually you get a few articles for free.

You may have read other articles from this newspaper or others owned by the same publisher.

I was surprised Cal Thomas is still around. He vanished from our "Left Coast" newspapers years ago.

[UpInArms]

2. Outstanding

This letter definitely describes my area, as well

[maxrandb]

5. Here is the entire letter for those that can't access the link

Last edited Mon Feb 9, 2026, 04:24 PM - Edit history (2)

It's in The Crescent News

Leaving Defiance County

I am one of many young adults who plan to leave Defiance County as soon as I am able. That decision did not come lightly, but it has become clear.

People often ask why so many young adults leave small towns like ours. The answer is not complicated. It is not just about jobs. It is about mindset.

Defiance has built a culture that resists growth while simultaneously complaining about stagnation. New ideas are often treated as threats. Different perspectives are labeled as disruptive. Progress is framed as unnecessary change. When a community repeatedly chooses the same leadership, the same priorities, and the same narrow vision for its future, it should not be surprised when nothing improves.

Young professionals notice when opportunity feels limited. They notice when innovation is discouraged. They notice when conversations about economic diversification, inclusivity, or modernization are dismissed before they can even happen. And they notice when frustration about wages, affordability and quality of life is directed outward rather than inward.

We cannot keep making the same civic and cultural choices and expect different outcomes. We cannot resist change and then wonder why growth never arrives. Communities reflect the values they consistently reward. If conformity is more comfortable than curiosity, and tradition is valued more than forward thinking, then ambition will always feel out of place.

Living in a place that feels small-minded is exhausting. It is exhausting to watch potential leave because it cannot breathe here. It is exhausting to hear complaints about money, opportunity, and amenities from the very people who resist the shifts that could attract them.

This is not written to be polite. It is written to be honest.

If Defiance wants to stop the steady drain of talent and energy, it will have to confront a difficult truth: economic vitality and cultural openness go hand in hand. Without one, the other will never fully materialize.

Until there is a genuine willingness to expand the way this community thinks about growth, opportunity and inclusion, many of us will continue to build our futures elsewhere."

[Ocelot II]

6. Thanks!

[mountain grammy]

14. Thank you..

[AllaN01Bear]

17. thanks .

[maxsolomon]

7. How you gonna keep em on the farm when they've seen the city?

Last edited Mon Feb 9, 2026, 02:41 PM - Edit history (1)

This is the eternal story of rural America - a provincial mindset stifles the open minded youth. MAGA's weaponized xenophobia and transphobia exacerbates the problem.

The exceptions are small towns with Liberal Arts colleges - like Athens OH, or Yellow Springs (RIP Antioch).

She'll head for a liberal bubble like Chicago, Cleveland, maybe even Cincy (within the city limits it's plenty Liberal).

[yardwork]

8. I left a small town in Ohio decades ago for the same reasons.

[BluesRunTheGame]

9. On the other hand, ...

…Defiance is a relatively safe community with a low cost of living.

[DBoon]

12. perfect for attracting retirees

[radicalleft]

29. Right smack-dab in the middle of nowhere

at the cross roads of corn fields and soybean fields with little to offer.

[BluesRunTheGame]

30. I worked for a company in Defiance for several years.

And…I’ve traveled extensively in 49 states, so I feel pretty comfortable stating that there are MANY PLACES in the USA that are MUCH WORSE than Defiance, Ohio.

It’s an easy drive to Toledo and an easy drive to Fort Wayne so all your material needs can be met without too much trouble. If you want to see the big city, Chicago’s an easy overnight trip.

You can buy a home in Defiance for as little as $100,000.(maybe less). Try that in San Francisco or New York.

I can see why a young person would want to get out of the boring Midwest , and I did exactly that many years ago.

I’m amused that someone would spend the time to write a letter to the editor complaining about a place like Defiance, OH. I would describe it as “ pleasantly boring”.

[crud]

10. Just to bracket this letter...

the letter following asserts that the earth is 6,000 years old. ugh, so much for forward thinking.

[maxrandb]

15. Yep! I consider myself a man of faith, but I don't recognize the God they created

Last edited Mon Feb 9, 2026, 04:25 PM - Edit history (1)

I am becoming more and more convinced that, 6,000 years ago, the wealthy and powerful held a summit.

"Look, the poor and the unwashed masses are always complaining and demanding stuff. Food, shelter, security, protection under the law, honest wages for their work, etc.
What if we gave them an invisible sky being that was responsible for EVERYTHING?
If we can convince enough of them that their true reward comes in the afterlife, they won't pay attention to how much we're screwing them over in this one. "

[Betty Boom]

13. I grew up about 50 miles from there and know exactly what she's talking about

Same mindset, different state. But I know exactly what she’s talking about. It’s the conservative mindset of not ever wanting anything to change. And then bitching about it when people leave because the community is so resistant to change. So all they end up doing is getting change anyway as their towns shrivel up and die. Drive through that part of northern Ohio and northern Indiana. It’s small town after small town with empty storefronts where the only thing to do on a Saturday night is to go to the high school basketball game. And the kids can’t wait to get the hell out of town once they graduate, unless they’re total losers like their parents.

[AllaN01Bear]

16. paywall

[Ilsa]

18. 38,000+ population. It's too bad they've become so stagnant. nt

[barbtries]

19. i did try, but hit the paywall.

couldn't see a thing.

[maxrandb]

21. I posted the entire letter in post #5 above

[barbtries]

23. the second letter referenced in the OP?

i was going to check that out per your recommendation. thanks!

[maxrandb]

25. You asked, so here is the 2ND letter that followed this fantastic LTE

But, be forewarned, it's fire and brimstone, with references to Nimrod and Mizrim. It's almost as if this following letter was submitted to affirm the points in the first letter.

Oooooh Boy! It's a doozie...here goes

"Accepting 'fabrication'

The Jan. 26 national news discussed "artificial intelligence" (fabricated) and reported that the pope warned about its future danger.

Right now the world's population is about eight billion, including two billion who endorse Christianity, including Bible study (not revised).

Many humans (since 4,000 B.C.) now reject the authority of God and accept the "fabrication," even risking disability or death (e.g. Genesis 3: addiction to sin food, causing addiction to evil acts against God.)

By the time of Noah, sons Shem, Ham and Japeth and their wives (eight humans in about 2448 B.C.) were the only "right with God" humans left after about 1,600 years and the worldwide flood. (Genesis 5-10): and the flood left one land mass with one language (Genesis 11:1) so Nimrod and Mizrim (descendants of Ham) built a city with a tower to glorify themselves.

When God saw what they were doing God said: "the people is one and they have all one language and this they begin to do; and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do ... so the Lord scattered them ... upon the face of all the Earth." (Genesis 11:1-9).

That occurred in about 2247 B.C., the same year that "Peleg" (meaning divided) was born because God then divided the one continent into the seven that we have now (Pangea theory; continental drift).

Using the Bible basis God is in authority over every detail of human life and now "astronauts" are said to be going to the moon. In just 250 years the U.S.A. has built numerous cities and towers and "nothing is restrained from their knowledge" (artificial).

The U.S.A. and UN are discussing threats of nuclear wear and humans are on all continents and "nothing is restrained from them." The U.S.A. and the UN could have prayer meetings to Almighty God Jehovah, but want to stay "as gods knowing good and evil," saying " we won't surely die" (as gods unto themselves). Genesis 3:4-5.

It's humans, not God, who have stockpiled nuclear weapons. What's the 25% stockpiling? Weapons or knowledge of how to live eternally in God's house? In heaven?"

[mwmisses4289]

26. Wow, what drugs are they on?!?

[maxrandb]

27. I don't know, but I want some

I think I'll just put some headphones on, drop the needle on Pink Floyd's Atom Heart Mother and read that letter

[barbtries]

28. eek

i don't know just what to say about that. Don't think I even know the point.

[WalkingMan1959]

20. Get out while you can...

I worked with young students for 30yr in NC Community College System. I would encourage them to get out of their home town and live somewhere else and see a different side of their world. You can always comeback in 20-30 years and help take care of your parents.

[dedl67]

22. This is an example of a long-term demographic trend

There has been a trend over generations of talented, ambitious young people leaving small towns and rural areas for large cities, where they have more scope for their ambitions. This leaves fewer of the bright, talented people in these small towns who would contribute heavily to their vitality. These places become even less attractive, spurring further exodus. This vicious cycle leads to differences in the demographic composition of small-town and urban America, which has spilled over into divergent political views

[Hassler]

24. Maga Repubs run small towns and

The towns are dying. Supposedly these are the job creators, so where are the jobs.

The letter writer gets it exactly right.