Where Have Small Town Values Gone?
Those were the values my grandpa taught to me
I wrote these lyrics seven or eight years ago I think. I am not sure what event or situation caused these thoughts but I think they apply today more than ever. In our family, my grandfather was a giant. Farmer, educator, preached in the oil fields as a young man - total integrity, short of temper but long on heart. I learned how to drive (a tractor and truck) on the farm. I spent summers there, and to my parents, siblings, and I "the farm" was home, a place we could always find calm in the midst of family storms, where simple values reigned, and where "character was king". Winfield, Kansas was a small town of around 3,000 people in those days, and the family farm was just a few miles, seven I think ("just around the bend", according to my grandmother) outside of town.
These are song lyrics, so they aren't literal truth, but they represent the essence of my Grandpa - a great man, rural America in the 1960's, and of farmers - who helped each other out during harvest, drought, flood, and family crisis.
Each person in life is given the opportunity to make decisions, and are obliged to take the responsibility for them. Most of us don't live up to what our Grandpa's and Grandma's and Dad's and Mom's and baseball coaches and second-grade teachers and youth ministers and scout leaders taught us were values of character.
But neither did they. They did their best but knew they could always do better.
So can we.
I am not a songwriter, as it will be easy to see, but is just a way to try to express what I'm thinking. I ponder these values, which aren't political, liberal or conservative, but represent lasting virtues, in the midst of the turmoil roiling the United States and world today.
Where Have Small Town Values Gone?
~Michael Kroth
When I was growing up in Kansas my grandpa said to me,
Michael in our family we do not call folks’ names,
We never put out little half-truths just to win the game,
The Golden Rule’s our motto, because you must see,
In rural Kansas of the 60’s, character is king.
Character is king grandson, respect for others key,
Our little church and town and farm’s no place for sneering mockery,
Yes I learned in Kansas, summers on the farm,
To treat others just as I would like to be.
As I look back I wonder if those times were really filled,
With the character my grandpa taught me on the farm,
Or was it just in Kansas, our small community,
Where folks helped others needing help with generosity.
But where have small town values gone,
what kind of ethics count today,
in politics or in business or just sports for little kids,
where do adults and parents take responsibility?
No instead we point the finger, blaming others first,
calling people names that hurt,
unlike my gruff old grandpa…. who stepped up to the worst.
Character is king grandson, respect for others key,
Our little church and town and farm’s no place for sneering mockery,
Yes I learned in Kansas, summers on the farm,
To treat others just as I would like to be.
As I look back I wonder if those times were really filled,
With the character my grandpa taught me on the farm,
Or was just in Kansas, our small community,
Where folks helped others needing help with generosity.
Where have small town values gone,
what kind of ethics count today,
in politics or in business or just sports for little kids,
where do adults and parents show fairness on the field,
No instead we take out ads that show a feller’s quote,
out of its context,
and try to frame the other guy for what he didn’t mean to say.
(Saying) Now how fair is that? Do you trust anyone to lead you who would do that just to win an election? Or to boost their TV ratings?
Character is king grandson, respect for others key,
Our little church and town and farm’s no place for sneering mockery,
Yes I learned in Kansas, summers on the farm,
To treat others just as I would like to be.
As I look back I wonder if those times were really filled,
With the character my grandpa taught me on the farm,
Or was just in Kansas, our small community,
Where folks helped others needing help with generosity.
(Spoken)
Integrity, honesty, giving credit where it’s due, putting the country and others ahead of personal or party ambitions, treating others with respect, giving another person a even break, being a good sportsman, admitting when you’re wrong…
....those were the values my grandpa taught me
(Singing)
Those were the values my grandpa taught me
As I look back I wonder if those times were really filled,
With the character my grandpa taught me on the farm,
Or was just in Kansas, our small community,
Where folks helped others needing help with generosity.
When I was growing up my grandpa said to me,
Michael in our family we do not call folks’ names,
We never put out little half-truths just to win the game,
The Golden Rule’s our motto, because you must see,
In rural Kansas of the 60’s, character was king.
To receive all our Profound Living posts, please subscribe (it won’t cost you anything but time to read): https://www.profoundliving.live/
Please consider following the Profound Living Facebook page
And... please share this essay with others who might find it beneficial.
Finally, for something more wide-ranging, check out The Profound Bartender.
