with

Mike Bellah

Don't you wish everyone in your town was on a first-name basis and looked out for each other?

 

 

 

 

Real problems rarely have simple answers; they cannot be resolved quickly, and they usually require a degree of pain and sacrifice to work them out.

 

 

 

 

Andy taught us that honesty is cool, compassion is heroic, loyalty is priceless, and taking a stand for what's right is what every good American does.

I Wish Life Was Like the "Andy Griffith Show"

"I wish life was like 'The Andy Griffith Show,'" sang the Bellamy Brothers in their 1988 hit song. I agree; don't you? Don't you wish . . .

  • Everyone in your town was on a first-name basis and looked out for each other?
  • Crime was so infrequent that your one sheriff's deputy could carry his one bullet in his shirt pocket, and the only real threat was that he might shoot himself in the foot with it?
  • Alcoholics like Otis would lock themselves up when intoxicated and never drive drunk?
  • Single parents had as much free time as Andy?
  • Everyone had an Aunt Bea whose milk and cookies could make their hurts go away?
  • Every child could be kept as safe, innocent, and happy as Opie?
  • All people were as genuine as Andy, as friendly as Gomer, as guileless as Goober, as harmless as Ernest T., and as loyal as Floyd, Howard, Helen, Thelma Lu, and the rest?
  • Complex problems could have simple solutions?
  • And every difficulty could be resolved in 30 minutes, less time for credits and commercials?

But life isn't like Mayberry; is it? It never was.

One of the downsides of midlife nostalgia is that we tend to romanticize our past. We remember the good ol' days as better than they were, probably because our minds tend to repress unpleasant memories and because our parents often shielded us from their "adult" problems.

I am leery of those who, often for political gain, vilify the present in terms of an ideal past. They may be sincere enough, but usually they are not good historians. There have been no utopias in human history, and I am especially amused that people would glorify the early to mid-'60s in America.

For even as "Andy Griffith" was airing, children Opie's age were openly worrying about nuclear war, most southern towns like Mayberry were not allowing blacks to eat in diners or ride on buses with whites, and young marines like Gomer were already being sent to a place in southeast Asia called Vietnam.

One of the criticisms of the TV shows of our childhood is justified: they did not prepare us for real life. Real problems rarely have simple answers; they cannot be resolved quickly, and they usually require a degree of pain and sacrifice to work them out.

Yet there is something refreshing about shows like "Andy Griffith." For while it was low on reality, it was high on morality.

Most modern sitcoms have it reversed. There are plenty of dysfunctional people and families, but there are few heroes with character. Straight-shooters like Andy Taylor are satirized on today's TV. They are insincere, foolish, and completely impotent in dealing with real problems.

It doesn't have to be this way. Andy taught us that honesty is cool, compassion is heroic, loyalty is priceless, and taking a stand for what's right is what every good American does.

These values are sorely needed in a more cynical '90s. They are not unworkable only hard-to-work in a real world. And so we need present-day heroes like Andy--just one more reason why "I wish life was like the 'Andy Griffith Show.'"

Respond to this column on Best Years Blog.

Best Years Home
Mike's Midlife Story
More Free Columns
Links Page
Best Years Blog
About Mike
Old Stuff