Mayberry, Mayberry not.

With the recent passing of Andy Griffith there was a good amount of understandable nostalgia stirred up in many people. I didn't grow up watching The Andy Griffith Show (thankfully I am too young) but I have watched a few episodes and not only can I appreciate it, I also enjoy it. It really is what you would call, "Good, clean fun." What it isn't, however, is a representation of how America used to be.

I have been a little disturbed to witness a lot of false memories of American history. People saying such things as, "Things were better back then", "Oh, the good old days", "I wish we could go back to that." The problem is that, "that", never existed, and that the life and community demonstrated was not one that was available to all.

The show ran from 1960 - 1968. This means that it started before the Civil Rights act was signed into law and ended just three days before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. This period of American history was definitive as well as horrific. We are looking at a time when discrimination is still legal, where children are being blown up at church, where men and women can be attacked and killed and little is done because of their race. Mayberry managed to avoid all of this.

Mayberry did not have a large African-American community. You can often see African-Americans in the background, but they are few and far between. This is of course as much to do with restrictions on black actors and the reality that there were and still are many towns that are predominantly white, also that the target audience was probably white. The show was definitely of its time and cannot be blamed for that. But to suggest in the 21st century that we believe that it was real or that we think that period of history was one worth going back to demonstrates a great deal of historical blindness.

"Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is not wise to ask such questions."

Ecclesiastes 7:10

It is without doubt that crime rates are much higher today than they were back then, but we have to consider that there are over 100 million more people and that not only are more crimes reported today but more things are considered crimes, especially when it comes to domestic and racial violence.

The serenity of Mayberry was not representative of what was happening across America. There was no sit in at the local diner, no episode dealing with integration at Opie's school, no freedom riders coming through town, and no church burnings. It is a lovely history that manages to avoid the uglier side of reality, and perhaps that is what people who fancy this as real are yearning for. But we cannot pretend reality away.

It is sad that Andy Griffith has passed away, but he seemed to have lived a pretty good and long life. What I hope we do see pass away is this false notion of what history was.

What's good for the goose...

Those who know me know that I am not one to readily put myself in a camping situation, neither am I likely to make any kind of effort to listen to live music, and yet, last week both of these things happened. Why? Because I attended the Wild Goose festival in Shakori Hills NC. I have recently started a new chapter in my life and felt that this festival would be a good place for me to explore my expanding horizons.

Here is the explanation of Wild Goose from their website:
The Wild Goose is a Celtic spirituality metaphor that evokes unpredictability, beauty, and grace. The festival resonates with this image because we recognize that in the current climate of religious and political division and lack of civility, embracing the creative and open nature of our faith is perhaps our greatest asset for re-building and strengthening our relationships with each other, with our enemies, with our stories, our questions, and the other. In that spirit, in an informal setting, and in the context of creative and respectful relationships, we invite you to imagine a new world with us.

It is no surprise that the festival attracts those who are from the progressive and emergent parts of the faith. This is not  a place where you will hear a lot of conservative voices, and my God was it refreshing. I have never felt so welcomed and accepted by strangers as I did at this festival. I have never felt so at liberty to be myself. I listened to those I agreed with and those I disagreed with. I attended a Quaker meeting, ate Indian food, fellow-shipped with a mason, sang hymns in a beer tent, and met people whose faith in Christ has forever informed mine.

Coming from a more conservative background I became acutely aware how little conversation exists in conservative circles. There is a lot of affirmation and agreement but not so much room for discussion and disagreement, at least not in the same friendly way that I experienced last week. It is amazingly freeing to  be able to accept that someone else has a different viewpoint and it's okay.

I would not consider myself a conservative but I do hold some conservative views, however, I think I am starting to see them as less crucial to my acceptance of others faith journeys than I did before. Perhaps I am coming to this a little late in my faith, but it feels so good to finally arrive.

The festival is a conversation, and we were reminded that an important component of any conversation is listening. It seems to me that the progressive side of our faith is doing well with listening and through this is representing the Christ I want to follow. If it is good for the progressives then I am sure that listening would also be good for the conservatives.

Perhaps you will read this post and disagree. That's okay, as long as you have listened to what I have to say.