I had to go to a meeting in Houston the other day and as I was driving down with some people I work with, we got to talking about growing up in the South. We talked about shellin' peas, catfish fishin', going to the swimmin' hole and running around barefoot all summer long. Those really were the good ol' days. Things are different now. I think for the first time I kind of understood why people try to harken back to a simpler time when it was family and Faith. A lot of us do have good memories of those times in our lives.

The trouble is that, in reality, things were tough back then. People were oppressed and poor and inflation was high and things were just as wrong then as they are now. The difference is, we didn't know any better. If we did, we didn't care so much because we had a big loving family and miles of country roads full of blackberries growing along the side and neighbors that would come out and bar-b-que while the kids chased lightning bugs.

Nostalgia isn't a good thing. You can die from it. My memories of any idyllic childhood shaped who I am, but the world has changed...and I've changed along with it. When politicians try to force that nostalgia on me I laugh because I know that things will never be that way again and we have to keep moving forward.

The life we have today is just as good as those summers spent running around grandma's backyard...they're just different. Embracing the change and adapting to it is what makes us a strong country. Not looking back at the past and wistfully remembering things in hopes they could be that simple again.