Hello world!

Welcome to my blog, Why It Matters.  To introduce myself, I am a PR professional and a columnist.  Although I have lived most of my adult life in large cities such as NYC and Washington, DC, I am a native of a small town in Tennessee.  Being from a rural community gives one a different sense of your place in life.  No matter where you go or what you may have achieved, when you come home, you are still the same girl-next-door to your hometown neighbors.  This is the essence of “small town America,” the sense of belonging, the sense of commonality.  In my own hometown, we have witnessed a surge of new residents who have moved their families to the area in search of just this ideal.  Most of our new citizens have fled the larger cities to find a better, calmer day-to-day lifestyle, safer school environments for their children, and a sense of belonging to the large family that is a small town. 

My background gives me a unique insight into the mindset of Americans living in rural areas and small towns.  Many times over the years, I have found myself in discussions with family and friends where the general response to any national political news was, “Why should I care…it doesn’t affect me.”  It was those conversations that made me look more deeply into this statement.  I asked myself, “Why does this or that matter to the average person?”  What I discovered was that most news organizations (print media, broadcast, electronic), spend their energies on reporting the basic data of an issue with little to no linear explanation of why it is or should be important to the masses. 

My new column, Why It Matters, will take a look at various state, national and international issues, politics and events.  By providing talking points from both sides of an issue, I hope to encourage discussion and debate among citizens.  Through my articles, I want to offer a clear and equitable analysis of the topic to show why it is or will be important in the lives of the average American.  

I hope you will enjoy my writings and will offer your perspective on the subjects.  I look forward to hearing from you on my blog!