To create this map, I made a list of the states and used free association to compile the very first word I thought of for each state. I specifically tried to avoid city and town names, as well as human toponyms for the physical environment, though a couple of national parks are there. And so, we have a one-word impression of each of the 50 states, as they existed in my head on the morning of November 9, 2010 at 8:35 am.
I would like to know the number of Texans that are upset at the label, the number that take self-pride at the label.
I grew up in Indiana but have lived in Texas – and raised my children here – for the last 23 years. To slap a label like "self-pride" on the state only demonstrates that whoever did it doesn't understand Texas or its people.
A better word might be "Land," since that seems to have played a definitive role in the people. Or, perhaps better, "Responsible," since Texans don't look to blame anyone else for problems and don't expect anyone else to solve the problem or rescue them.
But, given that the State of New York is called "urban" – ever been to upstate NY? – and Colorado "paradise" (I've lived in Colorado: I know it's no paradise), there doesn't seem to have been a lot of thought given to this anyway.
That's kind of the idea. Read the entry. It's a first impression taken at a given time.
I wasn't sure that "self-pride" was even a word. But I found this definition which works for me. Not sure folks in LA, MS, SC, MI, or KY are too happy with this article.