by Rick Bavera

Created on: March 03, 2009

Mayberry Values: Do they work?

The very first thing we need to be clear about, I think, is do values exist? My answer is a resounding "Yes." Next, do values exist in the Mayberry of the Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry, RFD? Again, my answer is "Yes." The final thing we can ask is "Are 'values' and 'Mayberry values' the same thing, or different?" I think that they are identical.

Furthermore, I think that "Mayberry values" existed long before Mayberry. They still exist today, almost 40 years after Mayberry RFD (the second of the shows set in the fictional North Carolina town based on Griffith's home town of Mt. Airy) went off the air. The shows still run in syndication around the world. People connect with them. Books have been written about them.

Why?

In part is it because we are getting in touch with nostalgic feelings from our childhood, when things were simpler, and all seemed right with the world. We ourselves, when children, did not have much responsibility for things. The adults in our lives took care of everything, handled everything, made all the important decisions.

But bad things still happened when we were kids, and also happened in Mayberry. Who can forget the show where Opie is out using his slingshot for target practice, after his dad has told him to be careful and not to shoot at living things? Opie then proceeds to accidentally hit and kill a bird. He is heartbroken, willing the bird to revive, which, of course, it does not do. The value here could be stated in several ways. One would be to listen to your elders, they know what they are talking about. ("Honor your mother and father," in the words of the 10 Commandments.)

That still works in today's society. Honoring and respecting those older and wiser than us. They have experience, and have things that they can teach us, things we can learn from.

Another show that comes to mind is series opener, when the housekeeper gets married and moves away. Aunt Bee moves in to help out the family, and Opie sees her as inept, someone who can't throw a baseball and is afraid to fish. When Bee decides to leave, Opie realizes that she needs to stay, that she needs them, how will she get along on her own? The value here could be stated as a valuing of family, being supportive and helpful to those around us.

Again, a value that is still important today.

Other values shown with comedic treatment and pulling on our nostalgic heartstrings include such things as friendship, respect, honesty, commitment, sharing, compassion, generosity and hard work.

Those values have been with us since we have been human, and have brought us to where we are today. The troubles we experience along the way are, I believe, when we ignore those values, and look solely to self-interests.

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