As I look at what is going on in our country now, I can’t help but think back to my youth. Raised on a small Kansas farm outside a town of a few hundred, my high school had less than a hundred and I was one of 18 in my graduation class.
I played basketball on courts in schools built by the WPA. Gene Hackman and Hoosiers brought back a lot of memories. Things weren’t as idyllic as they were for Clark Kent, but I can now see that people were honest, kind, and hard-working–even those on the ragged edges of that world.
I went to cattle and farm auctions and had a few chores, but I was never destined for that life.
Still, I look back on those times with nostalgia. Big cities were not for me either, and I’ve always chosen to live in small towns. Even now, I’m miles from a streetlight.
Those people—all of them—taught me right from wrong and the behavior that deserves respect. I’ve sometimes worked for companies, large and small, where I saw the opposite of what I’d be taught. Good people aren’t hard to find, and I found plenty, but I saw greed, politics, and dishonesty. I saw all this go from rare to occasional to common.
My recollections of those people and that time are still clear. It was a simpler time, and though it was far from perfect, it had much to recommend it.
Now I can’t find those people anymore. Like a bad dream, I see them hypnotized by Fox News, mindlessly repeating things that I don’t think even they believe.
Those who I admired so much, where have you gone?