To know the countryside, you must live in the city

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You can be a countryman, it seems, and know little of the country. But traditionally, country folks are regards as being in tune with the land. They live there, don't they? What can townies know of the "way of nature"? This assumption infects much of our culture. It predicates the existence of a clear division between town and country. It enables the rural lobby to characterize itself as an indigenous culture, its "native" traditions and pastimes threatened by an oppressive urban majority. The underlying message lies in that the countryside is best managed by country people. After all, they know about such things...