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I wasn't around then, but from what I've gathered, the following occurred then:
1. Almost everyone was white. There were a few black people, but they mostly lived in their own little world and acted just like white people did anyway. Hispanics in the Southwest didn't exist yet, Native Americans were called Indians and were wiped out in the late 1800s, and Asians were all hiding in San Francisco. Outside of a very small number of Jewish people, everybody was a devout Christian. Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and atheists didn't exist. LGBT people didn't exist either.
2. Just about everyone lived in a small town or on a farm. Everybody knew everybody else, and everybody knew everybody else's business. Their business, however, was mostly about gardening and whether little Tommy got whacked 8 times with a belt instead of his usual 7 for not eating all of his peas. The people who lived in cities were either weird bankers that were just getting rich to move back to their small towns, or immigrants, who also lived in their own little world. People who lived on farms worked 35 hours a day, before liberal labor unions reduced the number of hours in a day to 24.
3. Everybody went to church. It's generally assumed that there was one church in each small town, and all churches had the same beliefs - evangelical Christian. Since they didn't have anything bad to talk about - because abortion and gay people didn't exist yet - they just passed around casseroles. This was also a major source of gossip.
4. When kids were born, they had about three years to grow up. During this time, they were generally hidden from sight in society except to prove that they exist to the rest of the world. Once kids turned three years old, boys got buzzcuts and wore ties and blazers, and girls grew their hair long and wore ankle-length dresses. An exception to this was on farms.
5. Kids were also spanked and/or belted regularly. Most of these were for serious offenses such as not coloring within the lines, or saying a word other than "yes," "sir," or "ma'am" (the only three words people under 18 were allowed to say.) Nevertheless, kids loved being spanked and/or belted because it made them stronger.
6. When kids became teenagers, they became rebellious. Sometimes they would, with their parents' permission, go to diners where they would see members of the opposite sex. This was scandalous, as it could lead to such terrible activities such as drinking chocolate milkshakes. Despite this, everybody had a steady boyfriend or girlfriend by the time they were 16. Most boys played football and most girls were cheerleaders, which was really exciting because they got to wear different clothes.
7. When kids graduated from high school, some of them went to college, where they majored in learning words other than "yes," "sir," or "ma'am." A few rebellious men became bankers. Once they graduated from college, they would marry their high school sweethearts. If people didn't go to college, they would also marry their high school sweethearts.
8. Only men worked, except as schoolteachers, nurses, and librarians. Those jobs were occupied by spinsters who were unfortunate enough not to be cheerleaders in high school.
9. Everybody loved America, and said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang The Star-Spangled Banner every hour. There was an American flag on every building.
9. This utopia was destroyed by liberals who introduced reforms such as the word "no," vanilla milkshakes, time-outs for bad behavior, jeans, new sports such as soccer, and improved gardening techniques. Soon, that led to a breakdown of society.
I wasn't around then, but from what I've gathered, the following occurred then:
1. Almost everyone was white. There were a few black people, but they mostly lived in their own little world and acted just like white people did anyway. Hispanics in the Southwest didn't exist yet, Native Americans were called Indians and were wiped out in the late 1800s, and Asians were all hiding in San Francisco. Outside of a very small number of Jewish people, everybody was a devout Christian. Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and atheists didn't exist. LGBT people didn't exist either.
2. Just about everyone lived in a small town or on a farm. Everybody knew everybody else, and everybody knew everybody else's business. Their business, however, was mostly about gardening and whether little Tommy got whacked 8 times with a belt instead of his usual 7 for not eating all of his peas. The people who lived in cities were either weird bankers that were just getting rich to move back to their small towns, or immigrants, who also lived in their own little world. People who lived on farms worked 35 hours a day, before liberal labor unions reduced the number of hours in a day to 24.
3. Everybody went to church. It's generally assumed that there was one church in each small town, and all churches had the same beliefs - evangelical Christian. Since they didn't have anything bad to talk about - because abortion and gay people didn't exist yet - they just passed around casseroles. This was also a major source of gossip.
4. When kids were born, they had about three years to grow up. During this time, they were generally hidden from sight in society except to prove that they exist to the rest of the world. Once kids turned three years old, boys got buzzcuts and wore ties and blazers, and girls grew their hair long and wore ankle-length dresses. An exception to this was on farms.
5. Kids were also spanked and/or belted regularly. Most of these were for serious offenses such as not coloring within the lines, or saying a word other than "yes," "sir," or "ma'am" (the only three words people under 18 were allowed to say.) Nevertheless, kids loved being spanked and/or belted because it made them stronger.
6. When kids became teenagers, they became rebellious. Sometimes they would, with their parents' permission, go to diners where they would see members of the opposite sex. This was scandalous, as it could lead to such terrible activities such as drinking chocolate milkshakes. Despite this, everybody had a steady boyfriend or girlfriend by the time they were 16. Most boys played football and most girls were cheerleaders, which was really exciting because they got to wear different clothes.
7. When kids graduated from high school, some of them went to college, where they majored in learning words other than "yes," "sir," or "ma'am." A few rebellious men became bankers. Once they graduated from college, they would marry their high school sweethearts. If people didn't go to college, they would also marry their high school sweethearts.
8. Only men worked, except as schoolteachers, nurses, and librarians. Those jobs were occupied by spinsters who were unfortunate enough not to be cheerleaders in high school.
9. Everybody loved America, and said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang The Star-Spangled Banner every hour. There was an American flag on every building.
9. This utopia was destroyed by liberals who introduced reforms such as the word "no," vanilla milkshakes, time-outs for bad behavior, jeans, new sports such as soccer, and improved gardening techniques. Soon, that led to a breakdown of society.
i remember when people used to think nothing of filling up their gas tanks-now i stop at the pumps and sometimes there is as little as 2 dollars on the pump. you couldn't get very far with that-even for your lawnmower.
i remember when most people drove where they needed to go. i don't know about the rest of the country, but now i see many more people, including a lot of young people, here in florida walking with knapsacks, riding on bikes, or waiting for buses.
i remember when you used to be able to rush to the airport and still get on the plane with only 15 minutes until flight time.
heck, i remember a few flights being held a few minutes to wait for the last stragglers (me, one time)
i remember when flying was actually fun, not an ordeal.
i remember when you didn't have to produce approximately 10 documents to get your new driver's license, and they were cheaper then too.
i remember when they didn't have red light cameras.
i remember when you didn't become a celebrity by making a sex tape with somebody -and having your mom peddle it- but by being actually talented.
i remember when people actually went out and lived their lives, instead of turning the TV on and watching other people live theirs.
it wasn't that long ago, either.
Last edited by floridasandy; 02-13-2012 at 06:42 PM..
I wasn't around then, but from what I've gathered, the following occurred then:
1. Almost everyone was white. There were a few black people, but they mostly lived in their own little world and acted just like white people did anyway. Hispanics in the Southwest didn't exist yet, Native Americans were called Indians and were wiped out in the late 1800s, and Asians were all hiding in San Francisco. Outside of a very small number of Jewish people, everybody was a devout Christian. Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and atheists didn't exist. LGBT people didn't exist either.
2. Just about everyone lived in a small town or on a farm. Everybody knew everybody else, and everybody knew everybody else's business. Their business, however, was mostly about gardening and whether little Tommy got whacked 8 times with a belt instead of his usual 7 for not eating all of his peas. The people who lived in cities were either weird bankers that were just getting rich to move back to their small towns, or immigrants, who also lived in their own little world. People who lived on farms worked 35 hours a day, before liberal labor unions reduced the number of hours in a day to 24.
3. Everybody went to church. It's generally assumed that there was one church in each small town, and all churches had the same beliefs - evangelical Christian. Since they didn't have anything bad to talk about - because abortion and gay people didn't exist yet - they just passed around casseroles. This was also a major source of gossip.
4. When kids were born, they had about three years to grow up. During this time, they were generally hidden from sight in society except to prove that they exist to the rest of the world. Once kids turned three years old, boys got buzzcuts and wore ties and blazers, and girls grew their hair long and wore ankle-length dresses. An exception to this was on farms.
5. Kids were also spanked and/or belted regularly. Most of these were for serious offenses such as not coloring within the lines, or saying a word other than "yes," "sir," or "ma'am" (the only three words people under 18 were allowed to say.) Nevertheless, kids loved being spanked and/or belted because it made them stronger.
6. When kids became teenagers, they became rebellious. Sometimes they would, with their parents' permission, go to diners where they would see members of the opposite sex. This was scandalous, as it could lead to such terrible activities such as drinking chocolate milkshakes. Despite this, everybody had a steady boyfriend or girlfriend by the time they were 16. Most boys played football and most girls were cheerleaders, which was really exciting because they got to wear different clothes.
7. When kids graduated from high school, some of them went to college, where they majored in learning words other than "yes," "sir," or "ma'am." A few rebellious men became bankers. Once they graduated from college, they would marry their high school sweethearts. If people didn't go to college, they would also marry their high school sweethearts.
8. Only men worked, except as schoolteachers, nurses, and librarians. Those jobs were occupied by spinsters who were unfortunate enough not to be cheerleaders in high school.
9. Everybody loved America, and said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang The Star-Spangled Banner every hour. There was an American flag on every building.
9. This utopia was destroyed by liberals who introduced reforms such as the word "no," vanilla milkshakes, time-outs for bad behavior, jeans, new sports such as soccer, and improved gardening techniques. Soon, that led to a breakdown of society.
So - what have I missed?
So to acquire paradise, we just need to be racist, fundamentalist bigots who beat their children and put them to work in the coal mines at age 5, lock our women in the kitchen if they are married or the basement/attic if they aren't and proudly support our country's leaders for being power-mad murderous screw-ups who consistently ignore the laws and ideals this country was founded upon in the first place!
Wow, it's so easy! I guess I'd better go join Stormfront so I can save the world too.
So to acquire paradise, we just need to be racist, fundamentalist bigots who beat their children and put them to work in the coal mines at age 5, lock our women in the kitchen if they are married or the basement/attic if they aren't and proudly support our country's leaders for being power-mad murderous screw-ups who consistently ignore the laws and ideals this country was founded upon in the first place!
Wow, it's so easy! I guess I'd better go join Stormfront so I can save the world too.
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