An enlightened redneck is a Good Samaritan.

Thanks to the wonder of Google alerts, I found a great story about an Arkansas redneck transplanted into Canada who showed a busload of bystanders what it means to be a redneck.

So there he was, the day after a snow storm, on one of the main commuter routes.

Across the way was a little old man with his little brown car, stuck in snow. His dear old wife stood behind, trying her hardest to push.

After checking the time and realizing he had 12 minutes before his bus arrived, he told one of his commuter friends to hold the bus a second if necessary, and weaved his way across the busy traffic to the stranded car.

After clearing a space beneath his feet, and squaring off like a linebacker blocking the winning touchdown in the Grey Cup, he gave a shove, and the little car sprang from its entrapment, and puttered down the road.

When the man saw a group of young men who had watched as he did his good deed, he said, “What we need in this here city is a few more rednecks.”

The story was told by a woman who wrote a letter to the editor of the Vancouver Providence. “He is a well-educated, well-spoken redneck, and while he may be a little rough around the edges, you have to admit, society could stand to learn a little from his heart,” Erin Sparks wrote.

I’d say the man’s “rough edges” are part and parcel of his heart.