No Country for Old Men Memory and the Past Quotes

Okay, so 25 was a long time ago for Sheriff Bell. But let's be honest: most people are going to remember being 25 pretty fondly. Doesn't mean things were actually better; it just means that he has the lovely glow of youthful optimism and good digestion to shed a rosy glow on life.

Sheriff Bell comes from a line of police officers, and boy does he like to tell us about it. He likes feeling as if his job connects him the past generations because it makes him feel like he's contributing to something bigger than himself. Fair enough. And we bet if he went back and asked his dad and granddad, they'd have plenty of horror stories about those good old times to share.

One of Sheriff Bell's favorite old-timey anecdotes to share is that some of the county's early sheriffs didn't even carry guns when they worked. The courage and confidence in this kind of action—not to mention the suggestion that criminals were just nicer back then—makes Bell feel all warm and fuzzy. Today, though? He'd probably feel safer toting around a bazooka … or at least a portable steer-killer.

Sheriff Bell sure is stuck in the past, and constantly asking for stories about the "old-timers" probably has something to do with that. Just check out the way he talks about "old-timers," too, as though they're a totally different breed from us degenerate modern-day folk. Spoiler: people are just about the same now as they always have been.

Sheriff Bell is always looking for guidance on how to respond to modern troubles. For that reason, he wishes that some of the old-time sheriffs were still around so he could see how they reacted to modern problems. Our guess? They'd have reacted a lot like he does.

Ellis wants to but Sheriff Ed Tom's nostalgic bubble, so he tells the story of how a man named Uncle Mac was shot and killed on his front doorstep by a gang of thugs. See? Senseless violence has always been part of human nature. Aren't we lucky!

As Ellis shows us, there will always be people who have no sympathy or concern for others, people who'd as soon kill you as flip a coin. All you can do is try to contain these people as best you can.

Ellis gives Ed Tom some real talk when he reminds him that there has always been senseless violence and there always will be. The whole world isn't waiting on Ed Tom to find some deeper meaning in life, and it sure hasn't saved all its violence for his lifetime. It was turning out violent criminals before he was born, and it's going to keep turning them out once he's dead.

Ed Tom's friend from the El Paso police force regrets how far Texas has fallen in the past 20 years. He's a conservative man who thinks that dyed hair in children is the first step toward total anarchy. It's kind of hard to take the guy seriously on this point, since nose-bones might be a little cringe-inducing, but they're hardly a sign of the end times.

Ed Tom's El Paso friend is convinced that the slow slide into total chaos begins with the little things. For example, he thinks that young people should call their elders by "sir" and "ma'am" and he's convinced that once society starts sliding on these little things, it's not long before everything will end in chaos. Um, okay, dude. We think this guy is finally out-nostalgia-ing Ed Tom, which is saying something.