Let’s embrace the Land of Steady Habits
Earlier this year, Connecticut mercifully dropped its advertising slogan, “Still Revolutionary.” I’m not sure what image state marketers had hoped to inspire in the minds of potential visitors — perhaps an army of latter-day minutemen dressed in suits and ties, armed with laptops, driving to the front lines of the Capitol to battle a sea of insurance claims before a strategic retreat at dusk to their suburban outposts?
At the very least, “Still Revolutionary” must have created an acute case of cognitive dissonance for visitors trying to square it with the state’s unofficial motto: “The Land of Steady Habits.”
In fact, when Gov. Ned Lamont suggested a statewide contest to choose a new slogan, I thought, why not a two-fer? “The Land of Steady Habits” could serve as both motto and advertising slogan. Granted, marketing agencies that deal in hyperbole and oversell probably think it has all of the cachet of a death knell. But, to its credit, it has a comforting ring of truth.
The state embodies steady habits — in its terrain and climate, relatively free from the manmade or natural calamities plaguing the rest of the country, from western wildfires to southeastern hurricanes. Sure, we have four seasons, but all remain relatively moderate.
Further, the state’s steady habits are stamped into a map divided into 169 fiercely independent towns; they are preserved in old town greens, flanked by colonial homes and punctuated by church spires. Every budget season, steady habits resonate in the angry cries against taxes and regionalization.
Connecticut’s old habits die hard, like the Puritan Blue Law prohibiting the purchase of alcohol on Sunday, which only recently was relaxed.
Nobody seems surprised that Connecticut is the setting of “The Stepford Wives.” As that satirical movie suggests, steady habits also have a bad reputation for mindless conformity. As Ralph Waldo Emerson observed, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” And “The Land of Steady Habits,” after all, originally referred to the strict morality of Connecticut’s Puritan’s founders, who persecuted and executed “others” for witchcraft.
On the other hand, there’s something to be said for the traditions, customs, routines, and habits that stitch together the fabric of our lives, especially in a world that seems to be growing more technologically complex, logistically challenging and politically extreme.
I am a creature of habit. No doubt, my affinity for a place set in its ways led me to adopt Connecticut as my home. Perhaps my little mind is afflicted by Emerson’s hobgoblin, for you could set your clock to my routines. And some of my more immature, non-retired friends have actually put it to the test, deliberately phoning me during my daily afternoon nap. But while my steady habits may lack the rigor and productivity recommended by Benjamin Franklin’s daily schedule, I find they do provide structure, stability and opportunity to live each day more fully.
My steady habits begin each morning during my daily walk upon a well-worn path that my feet navigate on their own, allowing me to attend a natural summer concert of rhythmic crickets, maraca-shaking cicadas, bellowing bullfrogs and the improvisational fluting of cardinal mating calls. These creatures, too, are going about their daily business, which is music to my ears.
Connecticut’s steady habits are imbued in attractions as balanced as its seasons, as down-to-earth as its solid bedrock: a landscape of natural beauty with hills to ski and bike; forests to leaf-peep and hike; rivers to fish and float; lake and ocean beaches to swim and boat. What you see is what you get.
Rather than promising a magic kingdom, Connecticut’s unofficial motto is as practical as its people. As Chuck Kaiton, former Hartford Whalers announcer, fondly described the capital city as “a big small town,” perhaps Connecticut should embrace its true identity as a small-town state.
In other words, “The Land of Steady Habits” actually refers to a state of mind that may serve as a restorative tonic in a helterskelter world. Instead of marketing Connecticut as a place to visit or vacation, perhaps “The Land of Steady Habits” should be promoted as a place to call home.
That’s what I call it.