Living a "Norman Rockwell" Life

I was talking with a friend the other day about simple living. We both agreed that we missed our childhood days and that society as we knew it had lost the vision of living simply (in so many words). I exxagerate that a bit here because that's not exactly how I phrased it when we were talking. I was thinking it, though, and I'm sure my friend would've agreed. And then my friend put the simple thoughts of a simple life into a simple words: "Like the Norman Rockwell Life," he said.

"Exactly."

I've been pondering so much lately on what it means to live a simple life and as mine has slowed down drastically I've had the chance to really grasp an inkling of the hope of one. I think most people might call this the American Dream. Defined by Wikipedia, though, the American Dream is "a national ethos of the United States in which freedom includes a promise of prosperity and success." If you put it like that, I actually am living the American Dream. I mean, we all are living our own form it some way or another, aren't we? We have nothing lacking: good jobs, homes, food to eat, beds to sleep in, and dozens of other things that we could surely live without. Through grace, we are essentially already prosperous and successful and indeed, living the American Dream.

But reading up on what the "Norman Rockwell life" was all about, as my friend put it, I did a little research: Many of [Norman Rockwell's] works appear overly sweet in modern critics' eyes, especially the Saturday Evening Post covers, which tend toward idealistic or sentimentalized portrayals of American life— this has led to the often-deprecatory adjective "Rockwellesque."

And then I read up on what the Saturday Evening Post was really all about: The Saturday Evening Post published current event articles, editorials, human interest pieces, humor, illustrations, a letter column, poetry (with contributions submitted by readers), single-panel cartoons and stories by the leading writers of the time. It was known for commissioning lavish illustrations and original works of fiction. Illustrations were featured on the cover and embedded in stories and advertising. Some Post illustrations became popular and continue to be reproduced as posters or prints, especially those by Norman Rockwell.



What happened to our media, columns, magazines, and newspapers?

I wonder if we've gotten so far off track thinking we've surpassed the need for the continual penetration of culture, ideas, and creativity into society that we've lost the foundation we were built on. (Do I hear a big ovation in the background??). Now all we see are nothing but stories in the news about murder, political agendas, and greed. I guess we are "too good" for the simple life, now.

I don't know about you, but I would love to be able to go back to the time when you could leave your house unlocked for days on end or walk over and borrow a cup of sugar from your neighbor who knew your first name or you didn't have to worry about kids playing in the street or across the street or past the street in the woods down yonder. THOSE were the days. Those ARE the days. They're the days I want my kids to see.

The "Rockwellesque" illustrations brought life, truth, honesty, and simplicity to a pre-confused world. We may have our stocks, our iPads, our platinum VP nameplates, and huge homes, but do we know where our family is, what our neighbor's names are, or the last time we played a game instead of turned on the TV?