Frank Borelli, the editor-in-chief of New American Truth, fits the redneck stereotype. He was born and raised in Appalachia and subsisted in part on the food that his family, including a mother who dropped out of high school in the ninth grade, farmed and hunted.

But he knows there is far more to rednecks than the stereotype and is proud to be one:

As I was raised, I was taught that there was nothing derogatory about the term “redneck.” In my family’s experience the term was simply used to refer to hard-working farmers who literally did have red necks because of the time spent working under the sun. Those same farmers were usually quite polite, respectful, and if not well-educated, at least not ignorant or simple.

Sure, there are some uneducated and simple people who are farmers. There are also uneducated and simple people who are secretaries, mechanics, security guards and politicians. That doesn’t mean that all of them are simple or uneducated.

Rednecks — those polite, hard-working folks who earn their living working with their hands under the sun — would be more likely to stop and assist a stranded motorist with a flat tire or overheated car than other folks. Those rednecks know what true hospitality is because they value their home and the family in it more than a great many folks who value their home based on equity or market value. Rednecks might tend toward larger families because they consider every child a blessing delivered by God — and another set of hands to eventually work the farm when they’re old enough.

Well said. And Borelli has much more to say on the topic. Read the whole essay.