Crumbling

The slow but painful death of small town America.

In modern America, the small towns that populate the South and Midwest act as pillars to the temple of our country. They stand tall as examples of the “family values” that are exceedingly prevalent. The small town is a distillation of the American Dream, if not a perversion; being able to live out your days peacefully, working a non-corporate job, becoming close with your fellow townsfolk by going to the same church (or bar), and possibly a raising a family that will grow up in that very same town. Of course, there are numerous aspects of small town life that could be applied here. Conservative political beliefs, deeply ingrained religious behaviors, et. al.

Small towns essentially represent, to most people, every part of America that isn’t a sprawling metropolis. A concentrated group of people together, whether be a couple hundred of a couple thousand, breathing in the same air, going to the same restaurants, and living out their lives in parallel to each other- even if that fact is lost on them. We tend to romanticize small towns because we see them for what we want them to be- picture perfect, idyllic places to work and have a family. And yet, there is a great darkness lying within the American Small Town.

We have, for decades, ignored a growing problem with our small towns. They have grown cancerous, and the once steadfast structure of these pillars is weakening. We think that “family values,” whatever those are, and unadulterated religion will hold together the people of a small town, so while they cling to these dogmatic traditions, they are in truth torn to pieces. This false dogma, sold by politicians and other bureaucrats to subjugate the masses, has blossomed since the Reagan era. Now small towns are choking and dying, if not in population then in spirit. These places are simply sick, and for many of us it is hard to realize that fact.

And so, year after year, the pillars take more abuse. It turns out that deceptively steadfast moral ground holding the pillars up is rotten at its core, and always has been. But how many Americans has it infected along the way? Politicized religion, turning us against each other, government officials making themselves out to be heroes on our behalf. Where does it end? Red or Blue, we as a society must realize that our small towns are not places of the future. The instinct for young adults to flee, run away to the city, and make a new life for themselves is not simpleminded youthfulness, but an evolutionary reaction to the horror of the meticulously curated small town experience. This is something the politicians created, even though they knew it was fake, and likely could see where it would bring our society.

Now, my small town is a viper’s nest of small minded bigots, people who are so unwilling to learn or adjust their behaviors they would rather cut out their own mind. The instincts that have been ingrained into them do not leave these people blameless. As teenagers, and growing adults, they have a choice to turn against the current. They can leave, the easier path, or stay, and suffer in dutiful silence. This self-flagellating road, though, doesn’t lend itself to healthy and productive psychological patterns.

So we either leave, or watch as more and more cracks work themselves through these once-great pillars. Our children may never know the pain we feel, if they themselves can get out. For now, we can only hope and pray that this country’s supports can be repaired more readily than they have been damaged. And, we carry our crosses like the good Christians that we are.