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After an exhaustive search, I found no gemstone associated with a 159th birthday. It must not be a thing. Nevertheless, Nebraska marked that milestone Sunday with muted celebrations compared to other birthdays such as 175, 200 or even 160, which rolls around in 2027.
With another year of statehood in the books, some among our neighbors and friends and those of us in the chattering classes are wont to talk about Nebraska “values,” a favorite among politicians and PR pros and handy when selling the unsaleable or propping up the unpopular.
Defining Nebraska values can be difficult, given the heterogeneousness of those who call the Cornhusker State home. I’m certainly unqualified to offer a definitive answer. Which is why when someone trots out “values,” I wonder about those Nebraskans who don’t share the same principles and mores, given that while values may be assigned to groups, they are best reflected in personal, individual choices.
Stymied, I consulted the experts: artificial intelligence. I know … how very modern of me. Google AI spit out this list: “strong work ethic, integrity, community and, as embodied in the state’s “The Good Life” slogan, a high quality of life.” Nice.
ChatGPT was similar and expansive, touting “strong work ethic, community & neighborliness, patriotism, agricultural heritage, loyalty to tradition, political conservatism (with a dose of practicality), faith & family.”
That’s a sterling list, where we are 159 years later, according to a couple of bots searching the internet for anything that has ever been written about our fair state. Or is it?
Among Nebraska’s most pragmatic practices is the state Legislature, a unicameral since 1937, when George Norris thought it would be a good idea to, among other things, reduce unwieldy conference committees, increase legislative efficiency and transparency and somewhat mute the din of partisanship.
That’s why we skip the D’s and R’s on ballots for state senators.
No system is perfect, and party politics has always played a role in the Unicameral. As its presence has grown over the past couple decades, however, we’ve had to overuse the phrase “the officially nonpartisan Nebraska Legislature,” if only to remind ourselves of Norris’ original idea.
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Still, injecting more partisanship into the Legislature brings with it an unwarranted link to national politics, so much so that the current president has weighed in on state votes. As we’ve written in this space before, such party-first thinking turns the Legislature into a NINO, nonpartisan in name only, and, by so doing, undermines what many see as a Nebraska value: political pragmatism.
AI also gives us high marks for neighborliness and community, caring about those across the street, on the other side of town or in the next county. If you’ve experienced a flood, fire, tornado or other disaster in Nebraska, you know firsthand that people will show up with chain saws, claw hammers and casseroles, knowing full well that you would do the same.
I may not be able to define Nebraska values exactly, but whatever this one is, this servant’s heart, hands and attitude, puts a shine on our state.
Which is also why watching immigration agents run roughshod through communities in other states and cities gives this Nebraskan pause … after it first shocks me. This could happen here, to our neighbors, those with whom we’ve shared a “good morning” or an evening meal, a ride to school or a recipe, a laugh at a block party or an idle chat on a lazy Saturday afternoon.
Few are violent criminals. The vast majority are our neighbors, an important part of what we in Nebraska value.
The bots, in my human opinion, also missed a value: Nebraska’s reputation for having a cussed streak of independence, applied not just to politics, but also to cultural and social norms. Not only do our drummers look and sound different when it comes to a legislative structure, our history of advancing practicality over party, theory, fads and “the crowd” creates a sense of going our own way.
Independence hits bumps in the road, too, however. When “Nebraska. Honestly, it’s not for everyone.” became the state’s tourism campaign catch phrase, all hell broke loose. Thousands become instant marketing experts. (They periodically become license plate design virtuosos, too.)
Finally, independent, practical people want the facts to see where they might lead. The truth may indeed set us free, but it also better work. So frustration sets in when three of Nebraska’s Representatives voted for the SAVE Act — a proposal neither based on facts nor constitutional law. Their votes further call into question our independence, bolstered by the truth.
Something we value in Nebraska. For the last 159 years.
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