By John W. Fountain
July 21, 2014
I'm
so Chicago. ...I remember a time when we were a community... a time before
crack cocaine, before drive-by shootings and children being struck by stray
bullets inside their homes... A time when everyone went to church on Sunday morning
and the smell of Sunday dinner wafted through the neighborhood. A time when
churches were connected to our community and vital, and mega churches and
prosperity doctrine were an obscenity to us all...
I'm
so Chicago I remember tent revivals, the glow of light from the big top and the
call to all to simply “come”... I remember when “Mr.” And “Mrs.” were every
adult’s first name. ....and young people respected their elders, would never
even say a curse word within earshot. I remember when we were more neighborly,
less hateful and jealous of one another and understood the value of education.
A time when teachers carried themselves like they were ambassadors of precious
hope and promise. A time when parent-teacher conferences were crowded and
earning bad grades was a disgrace.
I'm
so Chicago I remember the time when it was shameful to have a child out of
wedlock and some pregnant girls were sent Down South... a time before sagging
when young men wore belts and we're taught to open doors and what it meant to
be a real man... A time when twerking was unheard of, when modesty was the
norm… A time before half-naked selfies, accentuated by duck lips and the kind
of tastelessness once ascribed only to women of the night and that now is exhibited
across generations—from babies to grandmothers.
