In Search of Mayberry
Written by Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski
“So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. ”
The Mayberry television show with Andy Griffith, Ron Howard, Don Knotts, and the other outstanding cast members stole our hearts. As a kid, I liked Otis, the drunk, who would come into the jail each evening and lock himself up. As a kid, it never occurred to me that Otis was a pathetic figure, or there were almost no people of color in the series’ run from 1960-1968. The television series was wildly 1960s throughout the 1960s and in the ’70-today on syndication. In the late 90’s and early 2000s, Christian Church curricula included Adult Education classes based on watching the Mayberry series. So why does the series remain so popular?
I can think of a couple of reasons why Mayberry remains beloved:
It is clean. The small, fictitious North Carolina town is immaculate. There is not one cigarette butt on the sidewalk.
The people are pure and wholesome. Even Otis, the town drunk, plays by the rules and locks himself up before he or others can do anything untoward.
Every challenging issue in Mayberry resolves in 22 minutes. Oh, that our towns and cities could be so fortunate.
Everyone in Mayberry is quirky but kind.
They may have disagreements and even argue, but the characters have learned a lesson by the end of each episode, and forgiveness reigns.
Earlier this year, Ted Koppel provided a story on the “CBS Sunday Morning” show on the tourist attraction in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, that dubbed itself “Mayberry.” People come from all over the world to experience the fictional town for themselves. Koppel thought he was preparing a “fluff piece,” but found he had the story of the year. “People looking back at the program seem to confuse the program with what reality was like in those days, wishing that we could only restore some of the good feelings, some of the kindness, some of the decency.” Koppel continues, “But what they’re really reflecting on is not what was going on in a particular North Carolina community. What they’re reflecting on is what was going on in the creative minds of a bunch of scriptwriters out in Hollywood.”
We fondly reflect on our younger years because we were optimistic, strong, and healthy as we got older. We often glamorize the time of our youth because we saw that time through the eyes of hope, excitement, and anticipation. Unfortunately, desiring Mayberry doesn’t make it real. Television shows in the 1960s were often comforting because the decade was so turbulent. The young were dying in Viet Nam, people of color were experiencing prejudice as our society attempted to address Civil Rights, and the lack of opportunity often limited women’s lives. Longing for a pretend time only makes matters worse because the fictional cannot become a reality. Pray for our society, and ask God to help us make our world a better place, but not a fictitious one.
