I live in Priddis, Alberta..It's a hamlet in the Rocky Mountain foothills just west of the City of Calgary. It's a diverse community as many people commute to the nearby city. The prime local industry is ranching..It's a small town..My house has a lot of history behind it..Back in 1920, a sizeable teahouse was built on what is now my property. When the owner of the teahouse retired at the end of the 1950s, he sold the home to a couple with eight children. The place was ideal for such a big family. Unfortunately, in 1962 the house burned to the ground and the family found itself homeless..The community stepped up..The father and the older children were housed in a nearby community hall while the mother and younger kids were sent to Manitoba to live with extended family..Neighbours pitched in and a modest log home was built on the property. The family’s period of homelessness was terrible, but relatively short thanks to the effort of the community..I learned of that part of my home’s history when some of the kids (now older than I am) came to visit us. It was an emotional reunion for them..I used to own the local pub. If you really want to know everybody in your area, that’s the way to do it..In the final year before I sold the pub, we were robbed twice in a matter of weeks..The cost of the theft and the damages caused set us back dearly. It was autumn and our slow season was approaching. While the pub was profitable, the profits were modest and we were in a tight spot..Within hours of the first robbery, a neighbour brought a piece of plywood to secure the door where the glass had been smashed. The day after that, local children crafted a bunch of fantastic notes and pictures to decorate the door. It brightened my morning in a dark time when I had to go open the pub for the day..The owner of another pub in a nearby town held a surprise fundraiser for us, and our community made a point of patronizing our place more than ever to help us get back up on our feet again. It helped us financially and emotionally get through a tough winter..We have come together in Priddis as a community for our neighbours when they have lost children, lost homes and even lost pets. It’s hard to find that kind of local support network in a city..In small towns, we take care of our own..That line is the main one that the woke are losing their minds over in Jason Aldean’s hit song, Try that in a small town..The insane left is claiming the line about “taking care of our own” has hidden racist undertones..Not only is that a load of hogwash, but it is also insulting to cut down such a beautiful thing as the protective civic spirit of small towns..It has nothing to do with race. I don’t doubt small communities in countries with people of all races are similar in their sense of community and protecting their neighbors..If anything, people living in cities should be looking at ways to emulate the tight knit communities of small towns. It feels good to know your neighbours, help your neighbours and depend on your neighbours. One needn’t be in a small town to try and develop those relationships..Aldean makes a valid point in his song..He mentions things such as people being sucker punched on sidewalks or old ladies being carjacked. These things don’t happen often if ever in small towns as perpetrators don’t tend to get away before locals get their hands on them. In the city, people have been trained to look the other way..Yes, my bar was robbed in a small town. It should be noted, when the criminals were caught it was found they came from the city..I didn’t need a bouncer in my pub. The local regulars took care of that and woe-betide the visiting folks who may think it’s a good idea to start trouble in a small-town bar..It is tiresome watching race baiters trying to find evidence of racism in everything..Why go ballistic over a song celebrating and pointing out one of the benefits of living in a small town?.Why are some people so obsessed with division they try to inject racism into a song where there is none?.Small towns are great, folks..I strongly recommend to anybody who can work remotely to get out of the city. Cities are crime ridden, over governed, running out of housing and crowded..Small town living is cost effective, the air is fresher, it’s safer, and most importantly, in small towns we take care of our own.
