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It's no wonder as cars in the 50s were crap compared to what we have today. A washing machine cost a months wages and other appliances however poor they were by today's standard were also pricey A "big" screen (21 inch) black and white cost a small fortune...No affordable or practical air travel...Medicine still in the dark ages...Too many people had virtually no equality.....No, I think I'd rather stay in today's world, thank you.
Wait a minute. There were some well-made cars in the '50s. Parts were certainly made better back then. One of my Uncles drove a 1950s DeSoto (don't know the exact year) all over the country and didn't have any problems with it.
Appliances were not "poor" in the '50s. They were BETTER than today's. My family had a freezer which lasted from 1959 to 1991. I am still using a blender my mom bought in the 1950s. Do you know why they lasted longer back then? Because they were not made in China or Japan.
There was a TV in my household. Buying items like that did not necessarily cost a fortune. My mom bought furniture after moving into a house in 1952. She paid cash for it and bought one or two pieces at a time.
If you think medicine was in the dark ages in the '50s, what about the 1920s? Or the 1890s?
My mom also said a paycheck went farther back in the '50s compared to, say, the 1970s. Inflation was not a problem in the '50s.
It's no wonder that every relative and friend I've asked who lived through the 1940s and later pick the 1950s as their favorite or one of their favorite decades.
The thing I remember most about that time was the deep, constant and persistent fear of a nuclear war with Russia. The fear was always present, even in rural Idaho, and often became paranoic during any brief flare up.
The Cold War wasn't cold when it came to this. The fear of Communism was the only reason we went into Viet Nam later, and went into Korea. It was the reason for the space race, and the reason why, after almost 30 years after Communism went bust as a political philosophy, it is still so feared here today.
We all lived in a constant low-grade state of worry. It was like having slow growing bone cancer in our society; at any time the worry could turn into brief terror and fear, then would always lapse back into worry again. Mutually assured destruction was a very un-assuring way to keep the peace. A policy of We die-You die did a lot of psychological damage to us all, and created a state of perpetual tension that was bound to blow up in other areas of our society eventually.
It was a concern, no doubt about it. But it was also a concern during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Better to be concerned about a Cold War than to live through an actual war like Vietnam.
My parents didn't seem that concerned about the Cold War in the 1950s. They went out to the movies, to the beach, went bowling, had parties at home, etc. And started a family in the 1950s.
I think I'll ask my Aunt about it. She lived through the 1950s and I'll ask her how concerned she was about the Cold War. I'm quite sure she will say something like, "Not very much."
It was a concern, no doubt about it. But it was also a concern during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Better to be concerned about a Cold War than to live through an actual war like Vietnam.
My parents didn't seem that concerned about the Cold War in the 1950s. They went out to the movies, to the beach, went bowling, had parties at home, etc. And started a family in the 1950s.
I think I'll ask my Aunt about it. She lived through the 1950s and I'll ask her how concerned she was about the Cold War. I'm quite sure she will say something like, "Not very much."
It sounds like you weren't alive then. I was. I remember the air-raid drills at school. I remember my mom, a registered nurse, taking a radiation care course at the Red Cross and coming home all shook up, thinking the living would envy the dead. (Close to her exact words) I remember thinking the Russians (that's what we called them) would surely bomb Pittsburgh to destroy the steel mills and we'd be blown away with the mills. I think we even studied potential Russian targets in social studies class in 5th grade (1959). I remember Khrushchev saying "We will bury you". Nowadays, there's a revisionist interpretation of that, but at the time, we all believed him. Here is a list of popular cold war songs from the late 40s to the early 60s: CONELRAD | ATOMIC PLATTERS - Cold War Songs
Yes, people got on with their lives, but that doesn't mean we weren't afraid we were all going to soon be blown away.
Yeah, I remember the days before the polio vaccine with kids in iron lungs. It was a great time!
Digs weren't so great either. In 1950 the average size of the new house built in the United States was 948 sq. ft. having a single bathroom. These houses also had one car garages for a reason, most families had just one car.
It sounds like you weren't alive then. I was. I remember the air-raid drills at school. I remember my mom, a registered nurse, taking a radiation care course at the Red Cross and coming home all shook up, thinking the living would envy the dead. (Close to her exact words) I remember thinking the Russians (that's what we called them) would surely bomb Pittsburgh to destroy the steel mills and we'd be blown away with the mills. I think we even studied potential Russian targets in social studies class in 5th grade (1959). I remember Khrushchev saying "We will bury you". Nowadays, there's a revisionist interpretation of that, but at the time, we all believed him. Here is a list of popular cold war songs from the late 40s to the early 60s: CONELRAD | ATOMIC PLATTERS - Cold War Songs
Yes, people got on with their lives, but that doesn't mean we weren't afraid we were all going to soon be blown away.
What is worse... a Cold War that never became an actual war or the 9/11 terrorist attacks? Khrushchev said a lot of things. Talk is cheap.
I'll repeat, no one in my family was hiding under tables fearing for their lives. They were living and enjoying their lives! And, overall, enjoyed the 1950s. As my Aunt said, "If only we knew back then how good it was. We took it for granted and thought it would always be like the 1950s."
Yeah, I remember the days before the polio vaccine with kids in iron lungs. It was a great time!
HIVS/AIDS wasn't around back then. Every decade has good and bad elements.
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Digs weren't so great either. In 1950 the average size of the new house built in the United States was 948 sq. ft. having a single bathroom. These houses also had one car garages for a reason, most families had just one car.
Don't leftists believe that a house larger than necessary is "wasteful?"
What is worse... a Cold War that never became an actual war or the 9/11 terrorist attacks? Khrushchev said a lot of things. Talk is cheap.
I'll repeat, no one in my family was hiding under tables fearing for their lives. They were living and enjoying their lives! And, overall, enjoyed the 1950s. As my Aunt said, "If only we knew back then how good it was. We took it for granted and thought it would always be like the 1950s."
No, but we hid under our desks at school during those air raid drills!
" (A) Cold War that never became an actual war"? You think not? Viet Nam was a "proxy" war against the Soviet Union. So was Korea for that matter.
America in 1950. Good for many, but not for everyone. Please consider what was going on back in 1950. Was 1950 in America good for EVERYONE??
We all know the answer to that. It's just that some posters care, and some don't. If they'd have had it good, then 1950 was awesome. For you and I, not so much.
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