{"id":72069,"date":"2021-11-11T17:54:54","date_gmt":"2021-11-11T22:54:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vps70863.inmotionhosting.com\/~nationalgrange\/?p=72069"},"modified":"2021-11-16T09:23:25","modified_gmt":"2021-11-16T14:23:25","slug":"former-fcc-chairman-addresses-grange","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vps70863.inmotionhosting.com\/~nationalgrange\/former-fcc-chairman-addresses-grange\/","title":{"rendered":"Former FCC Chairman addresses Grange"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

\"\"At the 2021 National Grange Convention Advocacy Luncheon, attendees were introduced to speaker, Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai.<\/p>\n

Pai is a long time friend of the National Grange, and being invited to an in-person meal is something he was thankful to be a part of, especially in his home state of Kansas.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou heard it from Dorothy well before you heard from me: \u2018there\u2019s no place like home,\u2019\u201d Pai said.<\/p>\n

Pai was thrilled to receive and accept this invitation, having long admired the work done by the National Grange to highlight issues of importance to rural America. He lauded the Grange\u2019s recent work in Washington, D.C. on behalf of farmers, ranchers, and small-town America.<\/p>\n

\u201cElected officials aren\u2019t just thinking about New York\u2019s Manhattan or California\u2019s Manhattan Beach – they\u2019re also thinking about Manhattan, Kansas, and places far smaller and more rural than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pai shared that he grew up in the small town of Parsons, Kansas, with his mother, father, and sister.<\/p>\n

Parsons is a town about two hours southeast of Wichita, a town that some people might dismiss as \u201cfly-over country,\u201d but according to Pai, it was a wonderful place to grow up.<\/p>\n

While visiting Parsons, Pai was able to visit familiar landmarks from his youth such as the hospital, the public library, and the local high school.<\/p>\n

Pai says he is worried about the state of his hometown though. \u201cThings seemed quieter, smaller than before,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

After some investigation, he found that according to the census of 1980 (not too long after Pai\u2019s family had settled into the town), the population of Parsons was almost 13,000, but the 2020 census showed a flat 9,600.<\/p>\n

This is a 25% population drop over the past forty years.<\/p>\n

Based on conversations Pai had had with his friends around town, the number of participants in school lunch programs have increased, health indicators have decreased, and key businesses have left town, taking some good paying jobs with them in the process.<\/p>\n

Young people have been leaving rural areas in search of opportunities that they believe they cannot find in the small towns they grew up in.<\/p>\n

Aside from community health of these small rural areas, the actual wellness of the citizens is suffering as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe literal health of rural Americans has suffered too,\u201d Pai said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re familiar with the statistics for things like heart disease and cancer, which harm rural residents more frequently than others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Pai was not fully sure, he could only suspect that rates of suicide and other mental health issues have increased with the added isolation and stress of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

Pai explained that efforts are being made to advance a proposal to designate 9-8-8 as a three digit suicide prevention and mental health number, due in part to the Grange\u2019s involvment in 2019 and 2020 to advance the proposal.<\/p>\n

Pai then presented the question \u2018What is underlying all these trends?\u2019<\/p>\n

Pai strongly believes that the reason people are leaving rural areas and not returning is because of the perception that living in a rural area means giving up access to broadband, for most it is a must-have and not a simple want.<\/p>\n

Though broadband will not solve all of rural America\u2019s problems, it is a good place to start in bridging the gap of the digital divide.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s up to you to keep up the fight.<\/p>\n

In the halls of Congress, in state capitols, in county board meetings, at senior centers, at schools\u2026\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Pai closed his speech by reciting the National Grange motto \u201cIn essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pai\u2019s full speech can be found on the National Grange Facebook page and the National Grange YouTube channel (youtube.com\/nationalgrange<\/a>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the 2021 National Grange Convention Advocacy Luncheon, attendees were introduced to speaker, Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai. Pai is a long time friend of the National Grange, and being invited to an in-person meal is something he was thankful to be a part of, especially in his home state of Kansas. \u201cYou … Continue reading “Former FCC Chairman addresses Grange”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-grange-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nFormer FCC Chairman addresses Grange - The National Grange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vps70863.inmotionhosting.com\/~nationalgrange\/former-fcc-chairman-addresses-grange\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former FCC Chairman addresses Grange - The National Grange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At the 2021 National Grange Convention Advocacy Luncheon, attendees were introduced to speaker, Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai. 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