Like it used to be

VIEWPOINT

By RALPH HARDIN

Evening Times Editor

Fun little story: I was at a family get-together the other day and I overheard a discussion that I was glad to not be a part of but intrigued enough to listen in on.

This was my wife’s side of the family. More specifically, it was my wife’s dad’s side of the family. Good people, but a lot of, let’s say “interesting” views about the world.

The conversation was nothing too interesting to repeat here but one exchange made me chuckle. One fellow was bemoaning the state of… something. I really can’t recall, but he closes up with, “It ain’t like it used to be.”

At almost the exact same time, one other fellow says, “It’s a real shame,” while the third member of the chat says, “Thank the Lord.”

And that, dear reader, is America 2024 in a proverbial nutshell.

See VIEWPOINT, page A5 VIEWPOINT

From page A4

And the funny thing is, I get exactly where both of them are coming from. This country, this community, they are not like it used to be, say 10, 25, 50 years ago. And whether you like that or not depends on your life experiences and your personal perspective.

For example, the generation before me fought tooth and nail to keep the City of Marion like “Old Marion,” as a quaint little bedroom town.

Nothing wrong with quaint little bedroom towns, but Marion exploded in population in the late ‘90s. It could have easily become the next Southaven or Olive Branch or a min-Jonesboro. But the powers that were at the time shut every door they could and so while the houses went up, the retail development that usually comes with it didn’t, and now there are a lot of “quaint” (as in old and run down) buildings where there should have been exponential business growth.

You can make the argument that the “good old days” were better, but for a lot of folks, that’s simply not true. Ask a woman or a minority or a gay person if they would like to go back to the 1970s or the 1950s. I can almost assure you they would not. But if you’re none of those people, you probably wish it was “like it used to be,” as in those people knew their place in society. So before you wish for days gone by, remember how far we’ve come.