What is meant by: "They were not simple folk, you see, though they were happy. But we do not say the words of cheer anymore. All smiles have become archaic." Is the author foreshadowing here, by implying there was one incident that changed the view of Omelas? Or has this always been a view of Omelas that no one was willing to admit? How does this section of the story relate to the theme and argument of the story?

In describing the citizens of Omelas, the narrator says,

They were not simple folk, you see, though they were happy. But we do not say the words of cheer anymore. All smiles have become archaic.

The narrator is concerned that we understand how nuanced the people of Omelas are. They aren't some simply happy folk who are thoughtless and ignorant. No, they are essentially everything that we are, complex and developed, except that they are happy. The narrator seems to suggest that we are not as happy as they are, that they exist somewhere in our past and that their happiness has been lost to us. The action of smiling, for example, does not occur nearly as often as it did then. Thus, there does seem to be a bit of foreshadowing; she reveals that this community does not last—that, eventually and inevitably, it turns into us. Perhaps this confirms the story's theme that happiness cannot exist without sadness and upset. Maybe it even suggests that humanity eventually prevails. If Omelas eventually turns into us, then this must mean that the abused child was brought up out of the closet. Otherwise, it alone would feel misery, and everyone else would be free to feel only happiness.