Arkansas: A tale of two cities–success & disaster
Bentonville and Pine Bluff
Apr 28, 2025
Forgive this foreigner (defined as anyone not from Arkansas) for making a few observations as he prepares to head back to the North where it is decidedly ‘purple’, not the joyous ‘red’ of this Natural State. It has been a marvelous winter in our Arkansas paradise (though 8″ of snow one weekend was a bit of a surprise Global What? – Arkansas 1st News). But, choose your cliche, “all good things must come to an end”, “karma is a bear”, “for every alpha, there must be an omega”, or if one is biblical and lyrical “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1. So, I will proceed, understanding the risk and knowing, as my fellow Northerner observed, “You can please some of the people some of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you cannot please all of the people all of the time.” Abraham Lincoln.
Bentonville/Northwest Arkansas (where we have landed this winter at our second home on Beaver Lake) is, by virtually any standard, a remarkable place. A photo taken several weeks ago of the downtown square, made less appealing by the removal of the Bentonville Confederate Monument (erected in 1908 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy) during the ridiculous George Floyd backlash of 2020, still captures some of the charm of old Arkansas. 
In an historical turn of events this sleepy city has become, in the past 40 years, home to the largest retail company in the history of the world–Walmart. The new Walmart Museum (opened in March) on the square is a delight. It aims to be both a place for the 2 million+ Walmart employees to visit and a wonderful display for kids and adults unfamiliar with the extraordinary Sam Walton and the incredible company he founded.
It is no mean feat that Walmart chose to build its new Home Office (others would say “world headquarters”) not in New York, Atlanta, Chicago or Houston, but in Bentonville. Kudos to the entire Walmart leadership for making that decision. And the commitment of the Waltons, the Tysons and the Hunts to Northwest Arkansas is reminiscent of the commitment of JP Morgan and his friends in New York in the 19th Century and Marshall Fields and his friends in Chicago at the turn of the 20th Century. I suspect that for those who have lived here for many years it is easy to take for granted the extraordinary commitment of those families, and many others, represented in hospitals, Crystal Bridges, a new Medical School, a Business School, children’s museums, endless bike trails and so much more.
Take it from an ‘outsider’–what Arkansas has here in its northwest corner is nothing short of amazing!
Now, as everything has its opposite pole (its Alpha AND its Omega), I was shocked to visit Pine Bluff, Arkansas. In my wildest imagination I could not conceive of a post-apocalyptic nightmare like Pine Bluff today. When we drove into the downtown, I thought it was a movie set. It is nearly beyond words and so I first said to my wife, “They must be about to film a zombie movie, and this is the set.” Seriously, that is what I said. And remember I have lived in Chicago and have seen and experienced the worst of its neighborhoods. Yet, on this one visit to Pine Bluff, I would say the South side of Chicago is far more pleasant. Aaargh–did I really say that? Yep, I did.
Here is a picture of just one of the buildings in downtown Pine Bluff. 
There are worse. If you don’t believe me then just google it and see videos and pictures of what was a beautiful city once upon a time, is now an unimaginable apocalyptic ghost town. Its crime rate is among the top 5 in the United States, far ahead of Chicago, Los Angeles, Newark and others. The Natural State for Pine Bluff appears to be a return to medieval tribal warfare or an image of a dystopian future.
We actually have neighbors who grew up in Pine Bluff and they never told us what to expect now. It was a shock. (Maybe we missed the good stuff. But, so far, no one has disagreed with one-day assessment.)
Now, I don’t pretend to know any of the history of the demise of Pine Bluff. But, knowing a bit about the long history of Arkansas government and how the government was “here to help”, I can guess. That the State allows this to fester is at the very least a sin of omission. Like Milwaukee in Wisconsin, Chicago and so many other cities, it is sadly easy to ignore the plight of others or to soothe our souls by speaking out, but doing nothing of substance.
In truth, the trip to Pine Bluff last month left me deeply disturbed. For me, Arkansas has been a beautiful place, with magnificent people. The shock in then accidentally ending up in Pine Bluff on an overcast, cold and windy day in March is itself a memory I have not been able to shake. Perhaps I missed something? Perhaps it was just a particular day when the city looked so bleak? And, when I started this column by asking that you please forgive me for offending anyone, it was a reference to this visit to Pine Bluff.
Which is to say, it has been a remarkable Winter when my own travails (see the website referenced in my bio Lawfare Triage | Where Deception Dies ) faded into the background. I’ve learned much and enjoyed more. I so hope that all who know me, think of me as on of those eternal optimists. God willing, I will continue to try to see the best in everything and everyone.
I am reminded of the need we all have to simply stop and enjoy the moment. We tried to do that this Winter in Arkansas. As the poet wrote:
Retired Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge. President Trump’s attorney in 2020. Speaker, columnist, talk radio guest, father, grandfather and fisherman. Lawfare Triage | Where Deception Dies
Pine Bluff was a vibrant city but that started to change a few decades ago. Liberal Democrats run the city and Jefferson County now as opposed to conservative Democrats who ran both in the past. Not Democrat vs Republican but liberal vs conservative.