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Such is the way of life. I'm sure people in the 1800s thought life was better and simplier before the Industrialization Age and the Civil War, which brought progress but also a whole host of new problems and fears they've never encountered before.
You cannot change others but you can change yourself. If you long for the days of close neighbors, communities, and families then BE that neighbor and family member you dream of.
As the wise Amish say, "If you admire our community spirit, build your own."
It's better now in some ways, not as good in others.
Agreed. Some areas of change have been good for our society, but many have resulted in the loss of community that I experienced growing up. I don't believe that I am viewing that era through rose-colored lenses either. There is much to be said for strong family units and more connection to our neighbors and our communities through church, temple, school and community events.
For what it's worth (and it might not be worth much!), I am a 62-year-old woman, and most women I know close to my age agree that the 1950's were better than they are now. However, as this thread seems to be focusing on "Sure, it was better if you were white" -- which I don't disagree with at all, btw! -- I am going to just say that I lived first in Ohio, and then in Southern California, and my classrooms, neighborhood, and everywhere else I went did NOT have any kind of segregation, even though "whites" were MUCH more in the majority than they are now, as they were in most of the U.S.
But, to get back to the MAIN point of the title of the thread, I think most people were definitely happier 60 years ago. At least back then, most people had hope of things improving, while it seems to me that most people today -- and especially children and young adults -- are much more pessimistic about the future than I was when I was in school. With the exception of "minorities" gaining more acceptance (whether referring to a minority in religion, sexual preference, race, or whatever) and a general increase in personal freedom, I don't think that much of anything has improved in the past 60 years. (And, yes, I am including the improvements in technology and medical care because overall, in my opinion, the negatives have outweighed the positives.)
Last edited by katharsis; 01-11-2016 at 11:46 AM..
Ironically, this racist argument is the cause of the problem to begin with.
As much as I'd like to casually dismiss your view as an outlier, it is the unspoken, unwritten basis of my state's public school policy.
How is truth and facts racist. You realize you just showed the problem. NOTHING is anyone's fault its all someone else's fault. The only problem is people trying to create equality when it can't be done. LAWS can't make IQ's equal...its that simple. No one's fault its just natures way of doing things.Not all animals are equal are they? Some animals kill and eat others. There is always someone at the top of the food chain and someone at the bottom.
Looking at this in a personal light, this is a major question. Why should I strive for those "good old days", the 50's? Knowing what I know about the 50's, and being a Black male, why should I strive for the 50s? What do I have to gain that I don't have now? I have a job, a college degree, I can vote, live where I want, eat where I want, date any woman I choose, basically, the same as anyone else. Why would I want the 50s when I consider all of the restrictions on ky lige as a Black man in America?
According to polls that have been conducted over time, women in the 1950s were much happier than women are today.
I don't doubt that to be the case. Of course, career choices were not as broad as they are today, but women had much more support from other women then they do today. Women are more competitive and judgmental of women's decisions whether they stay home and raise a family or focus more on their career than family and all women suffer from guilt of having to choose BOTH and fully succeed at neither.
Today's woman has a higher risk of heart attack, alcoholism, depression and autoimmune disorders as a result of work related stress. We've come a long way baby!
During slavery? You do realize slavery happened to whites as well..see us whining about it? Nope. We advanced ourselves and took charge of our lives.
Actually, Whites were subjected to indentured servitude in the USA. After Bacon's Rebellion, Blacks were explicitly reserved as slaves. And after slavery, Blacks had all kinds of restrictions, in particular, Jim Crow. Of course Whites would do better. They were given more opportunities to do so thsn Blacks. Were Whites explicitly subjected to Jim Crow?
Well, sure, if you grow up in a culture in which the only "career" open to a woman is wife and mother, that's what you believe you should be.
I have a 29 year old daughter, and I remember telling her that when I was growing up, I never dared to dream of being an astronaut or a doctor or lawyer, because there was no such thing for women. She couldn't believe that, because she never had any limits put on her dreams. That was a great day for me, realizing that my generation had opened the way for hers. That's something that a person who has never had such constraint could ever understand.
You don't even believe that your grandmothers ever wanted anything for themselves. The only thing they ever wanted, in your belief, is to take care of a husband and kids and a house. That you can't even imagine that they might have had unrealized dreams for themselves says a lot.
My best friend from HS got married after her first year of college. She was a stay at home mom to 2 kids. Her husband only had a HS diploma and worked in the oilfields in TX.
I got a college degree and attended law school. Lived in big cities, made lots of money. Have been married twice, struggle with saving for college and retirement.
All in all, my best friend has had a much happier and successful life in my view. She worked part time when her kids were in HS. Her kids both went to college. She and her husband own their home. They have a pool and a place at a lake a couple hundred miles from their home. She is still in the same town we grew up in and has time to enjoy her life as a wife, mom and grandmother.
She doesn't deal with a daily commute of an hour to and from work each day. Of child support and exorbitant mortgage payments. She has friends from childhood still living in the area, so she has roots and connections.
I bought into the Feminist lie of having it all, and all I have is a great paying job that keeps me away from my family 10 hours a day. No close family or friends to hang out with because nights and weekends are for doing all the chores that are not done during the week. etc., etc.,
I have no idea whether I would make different choices if I had the insight I have today, but I have no problem admitting that my BFF's life is much fuller and more rewarding than my "Cosmopolitan" life turned out to be!!
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