What it means to be One-way
If you are of a certain age and you are from rural Maine, you know what the term "One-way" means. It has nothing to do with highway signs. It has no euphemistic implications about sexual preference. It is not in reference to political or social views.
Many years ago there was a truism in Presidential politics which, sadly, is no longer accurate. It was, "As Maine goes, so goes the nation." Maine was once amongst the first states to vote their primaries, and was often considered the bell-weather state: if a politician could convince Mainers to vote for them, they had passed a stern test - the test of character, the test of whether or not they were One-way. So what does it mean?
Usage (with a disapproving scowl): "He's a one-way person"... To be one-way - to most Mainers - is the cardinal sin, and the most damning indictment of character. Mainers know what it means, and like the best of Maine-isms, this little phrase says it all in the the most succinct way possible. If you are "one-way" it means there is something very fundamentally wrong with you.
On the whole, Mainers - though often thought conservative, and often thought judgmental - are actually quite tolerant in their views. Mainers can disapprove of things about you - your lifestyle, your politics, your religious affiliations, your peccadilloes, addictions and weaknesses ; how you dress, how you speak, where you live, where you are from - without judging your personal worth. Mainers are no less susceptible to stereotypes nor prejudices than anyone else, but they are surprisingly accepting, and - in my experience - rather uniquely prepared to judge human beings on inner and essential qualities of character. And the lack of those inner qualities - the one thing that will make you an outcast and a pariah - is defined by this little hyphenated adjective.
One-way means all of the following:
You take more than you give
You talk but you don't listen
You consume but you don't produce
You demand but you don't offer
You want freedom but refuse to sacrifice
You take authority but not responsibility
You complain but you don't try to make it better
You blame others but take no blame yourself
You know everything but you are unwilling to learn
You want it all one-way - your way
If you are every undecided or uncertain about a person - personally, politically, commercially or in any other respect - you could do far worse than to ask an old Mainer about them. If they tersely report he or she is One-way, you know everything you need to know about them.
