Again and again we have heard the same rhetoric from our politicians that they have “small town values;” however, when asked at the Republican National Convention, delegates could only define one small town value - traditional marriage. Everyone can identify a small town value when they see one, but creating a list of such values is quite difficult for many politicians. Many envision small town values to be similar to the archaic 1950s family, but we see many of our small town traditions existing in large cities today.

While we see a level of demoralization in the cities today, from graffiti to bodily exposure, we also see some semblance of a small town within communities in a large city. The problem with a large city is that those individual communities rarely, if ever, unite, unlike a small town which unites all its citizens regularly.

Strong Foundations

The most important part of a small town is its community backbone, a united group of individuals who regularly interact to ensure the continued prosperity and protection of their community. Organizations within the community promote family-oriented events and clean, conservative policies. While many of these organizations revolve around the spiritual communities, many secular programs, such as the Mayor’s Youth, the Sheriff’s Little Deputies, or little league baseball, provide many forms of activities for today’s active youths. Within these organizations develops allegiances, respect for authority, and the affirmation of guidelines to promote structure.

Family

Small towns generally have people with large, extended families that meet regularly, either at festivals, church events, reunions, or regular Sunday dinner. In a small town, the focus on family encompasses first cousins, second cousins, great aunts and great uncles, and their families. In a large city, we see the focus is on the nuclear family. The interaction of the extended family maintains family and community traditions.

Traditions

Small towns have strong traditions which unify a group of people, such as a bonfire at a homecoming football game, a parade for a local festival, or even a rite of passage event for youths. A father taking his son hunting on the first day of duck hunting season is a simple rite of passage tradition. Even a simple tradition of eating Sunday dinner at Grandma’s house is a positive small town value. Small towns are a close-knit group of people who gather regularly, either formally or informally, to promote family and positive activities in the community. As the Mississippi Wildlife & Fisheries’ slogan goes: Kids who hunt and fish don’t steal and deal.

Home

In many small towns, we continue to see one parent as the homemaker, either the mother or the father, whose roles are defined and maintained. And in small town families where we see both parents working, we continue to see parents supporting one another rather than battling each other over chores. Home-cooked meals and family suppers support the family structure. We see the parents with defined roles and the authority figures of the family instead being a child’s friend or a slave to the child’s activities. Stability of the family structure and the establishment of a healthy living environment promote positive behaviors.

Conservative Spending

With one parent as a homemaker, money is not as abundant as with both parents working. While this strains the family’s economic resources, we see families spend more conservatively, through shopping specials and maintaining priorities. Instead of buying the latest video game to keep the child amused, parents spend more time with the children and less time shopping for fancy gifts to keep the children busy.

Democratic Government

While the people of a small town respect those in authority, such as the Mayor and the Sheriff, we see a level of equality among all individuals. The Mayor or the Sheriff is usually no different than the common man, just a person with a different job. Instead of being wined and dinned in the high-end restaurants of the big cities, we see small town officials at the local dinners sharing stories and listening to the lasted gossip with the other guys or gals. We also see officials taking the effort to meet the people rather than elaborate on their policies in a debate. In a small town, it is not so much your political position or education as it is your demeanor and your ability to lead. We also see more people participating directly in the government in small towns, filling up School Board meeting rooms and writing letters to their local newspaper. The people make their own decisions and activity participate in all levels of the community and anyone among them may be chosen to lead the community.

Limited Class Difference

While there are differences in social and economic classes in small towns, there is not as large of a divide among the people as there is in a large city. When a low-income family is stricken with harder times, we see the family and the extended community supporting that family evermore. Either rich or poor, we see people maintain a common level of mannerisms in small towns that determine normal behavior. We also see small town communities attempt to halt the divide between rich and poor by passing decency laws or school uniform policies which retain some level of equality even between the rich and the poor.