The "good" ole days...

[minkydog]

I was listening to a song tonight that touted the greatness of the good ole days and I got to thinking, were those days *really* so good? I mean, yeah, people probably were more trusting. Kids could ride their bikes from here to yonder and nobody feared for their safety. Teachers were revered and you could count on your neighbors to help keep tabs on your teenagers.

But, would we really be better off in a world in which type 1 diabetes and childhood cancer was almost universally fatal? When women were barred from the military, police force, fire fighting, and medical school? Would we be better off without that "new" wonder drug, penicillin? One hundred years ago the only voters were white men. Treatment for depression was almost non-existent. More soldiers died of gangrene, pneumonia, diptheria, and typhoid than bullets and mortars. Large parts of rural America had no electricity or toilets. Most babies born before 35 weeks didn't make it. Pedophiles and rapists were rarely prosecuted. Domestic violence was as common as rain and just as acceptable.

I think not. What say you?

 

[AKL_Megs]

I was listening to a song tonight that touted the greatness of the good ole days and I got to thinking, were those days *really* so good? I mean, yeah, people probably were more trusting. Kids could ride their bikes from here to yonder and nobody feared for their safety. Teachers were revered and you could count on your neighbors to help keep tabs on your teenagers.

But, would we really be better off in a world in which type 1 diabetes and childhood cancer was almost universally fatal? When women were barred from the military, police force, fire fighting, and medical school? Would we be better off without that "new" wonder drug, penicillin? One hundred years ago the only voters were white men. Treatment for depression was almost non-existent. More soldiers died of gangrene, pneumonia, diptheria, and typhoid than bullets and mortars. Large parts of rural America had no electricity or toilets. Most babies born before 35 weeks didn't make it. Pedophiles and rapists were rarely prosecuted. Domestic violence was as common as rain and just as acceptable.

I think not. What say you?

You are right in the bottom paragraph, none of those things are "good".

But, we ALL wish we could live in Mayberry, where all of the things in the FIRST paragraph applied.

 

[nmmom95]

You are right in the bottom paragraph, none of those things are "good".

But, we ALL wish we could live in Mayberry, where all of the things in the FIRST paragraph applied.

I see your point, but you have to take the good with the bad, and Minky is right, there were a lot of bad things in the "good ole" days.

 

[okeydokey]

Don't forge the number of women that died in childbirth. Not so good.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Once I hit my 30's I came to think that 'the good old days' have more to do with a person's limited awareness during childhood & adolescence than with the state of the world around them. When we're kids we're so self involved we don't even see what's going on right in front of us so we can't even see our parent's flaws. Then the teen years hit and our circle expands to our families and friends but we're still pretty blind & self centered, easily tricked and naive. Somewhere in our 20's most of us have our eyes opened either through experience or trauma and then we get a good clear look around. Most people attribute this change in perception to change in the world but having done 20 years twice over now I don't think things change at all, I think we change.

I'm with you, the good old days weren't so great. Women and children had no rights... my Grandmother was actually born into a world where she couldn't vote. If you go back a little further women couldn't own property and slavery was legal. We still have women and children being enslaved today but at least it's illegal, at least here in the US because there are plenty of countries that just ignore it. Drugs were always present but they weren't considered a crime until recently, again that's just here in the US, plenty of countries ignore that social ailment too. The more I think about it the more I am sure I have no desire to live in any other time period and certainly not anywhere else.

If I could I would like to live in a pretend world though, Mayberry sure sounds nice and if I could get there I'd be in no hurry to leave.

 

[C.Ann]

I was listening to a song tonight that touted the greatness of the good ole days and I got to thinking, were those days *really* so good? I mean, yeah, people probably were more trusting. Kids could ride their bikes from here to yonder and nobody feared for their safety. Teachers were revered and you could count on your neighbors to help keep tabs on your teenagers.

But, would we really be better off in a world in which type 1 diabetes and childhood cancer was almost universally fatal? When women were barred from the military, police force, fire fighting, and medical school? Would we be better off without that "new" wonder drug, penicillin? One hundred years ago the only voters were white men. Treatment for depression was almost non-existent. More soldiers died of gangrene, pneumonia, diptheria, and typhoid than bullets and mortars. Large parts of rural America had no electricity or toilets. Most babies born before 35 weeks didn't make it. Pedophiles and rapists were rarely prosecuted. Domestic violence was as common as rain and just as acceptable.

I think not. What say you?

I think you're making an "all or nothing" comparison that has only become that way due to the choices that much of society has made..

Did we have to give up SAHM's in order for "some" women to join the military?

Did we have to give up living in affordable homes for life that were enough to meet our needs (not moving "up" from "starter homes" 2 or 3 times or more) so we could have penicillin?

Did we have to make teachers "the bad guys" in order for childhood cancer survival rates to go up?

Did we have to stop helping out our neighbors - being tight knit communities -for depression treatments to become available?

See where I'm going with this? The "connect" isn't there.. All you have to do is look at how the Amish live to see that our "choices" determine much of what our lifestyles are..

People could have much of both - the good old days and the beneficial progresses we've made - but we choose not to in many cases because it's "too hard" or we "don't have the time" or "it's all about me and the heck with everyone else"; etc., etc..

Life has never been all roses - then or now.. And although progress brings change, you have only to look around you to see that all change isn't necessarily good..

I guess just don't see your assessment as "either/or"..

Probably doesn't make much sense, but that's the best way I can explain it right now.. I just got up from a short nap..

 

[minkydog]

Well, I don't see it as either/or, I see it as both. My point is that we often idealize the good ole days, forgetting that there are always two sides. Mayberry was a fake town in a feel good TV show. How many of us actually grew up in a place where nothing really bad ever happened and everyone got along? Probably very few.

I don't think we had to give up the good things to prevent the bad things. In the future I'm sure people will look back at 2010 and shake their heads at the ways we lived and be glad for the medical and technological advances they have. No generation is inherently good. I just got to thinking that when we talk about how good the good ole days were, we should also be grateful that a lot of the bad parts of those days have become good now. I wouldn't want to live in any generation but my own. I'll take the good with the bad.

 

[Magpie]

I think you're making an "all or nothing" comparison that has only become that way due to the choices that much of society has made..

Did we have to give up SAHM's in order for "some" women to join the military?

SAHM's were pretty much an invention of the mid-20th century, and only because we were prosperous enough to support them. Before that, most women worked.

My great-grandmother worked - she ran a bar and took in washing. My grandmother stayed home and was miserable. My mother worked, because she had to support herself and me. I was lucky enough to be the first to actually have a CHOICE - and after spending some time in the military, I chose to stay home and be a SAHM. I think I'm the most fortunate of them all.

Did we have to give up living in affordable homes for life that were enough to meet our needs (not moving "up" from "starter homes" 2 or 3 times or more) so we could have penicillin?

Um, my husband and I bought a house when my daughter was almost one. We're still living in it and have no intention of moving. It meets our needs.

My great-great-grandmother emigrated from Ireland to the US. My great-grandmother, on the other hand, had to move constantly to find work. My grandmother married a military man and followed him where ever he was posted. My mother emigrated to Canada with me. I'm the first one in memory to actually raise a family in a "Family Home".

AND I have penicillin. By this standard, I'm definitely luckier than all of them.

Did we have to make teachers "the bad guys" in order for childhood cancer survival rates to go up?

Some teachers were always the bad guys - it's just now we sometimes actually listen to kids when they try to tell us that things aren't right in the classroom. I had one particularly creepy teacher who used to have us girls comb her hair - she treated it like a special privilege. And another who would "inspect" our underwear to make sure we weren't wearing anything against school code.

I like the fact that we hold teachers to a higher standard these days!

Did we have to stop helping out our neighbors - being tight knit communities -for depression treatments to become available?

Clearly you've never been to one of our block parties!

See where I'm going with this? The "connect" isn't there.. All you have to do is look at how the Amish live to see that our "choices" determine much of what our lifestyles are..

People could have much of both - the good old days and the beneficial progresses we've made - but we choose not to in many cases because it's "too hard" or we "don't have the time" or "it's all about me and the heck with everyone else"; etc., etc..

Life has never been all roses - then or now.. And although progress brings change, you have only to look around you to see that all change isn't necessarily good..

I guess just don't see your assessment as "either/or"..

Probably doesn't make much sense, but that's the best way I can explain it right now.. I just got up from a short nap..[/B]

I'm sorry if I'm taking advantage of your sleep-deprived state, and I do understand what you're getting at. But I disagree. I know that things aren't perfect, but I do believe they're a heck of a lot better than they've ever been - at least over the last 100 years.

I have fairly complete histories of my family. I don't envy my great-great-something grandmother as a young girl cleaning houses in a foreign country. The first time she saw stairs was in her employer's home and she crawled up them on her hands and knees. They laughed at her for being "stupid" and "Irish" and for not knowing how to wear shoes, and they called her Brigit, even though that wasn't her name. It was just what you called all Irish girls.

I don't envy my great-grandmother, abandoned by her husband and trying to get by during a time when women had limited rights.

And my mom's life sure wasn't any bed of roses!

I feel very, very lucky to have been born when I was, and when I look around I see a lot of hope for the future.

 

[tvguy]

I kind of think things are about the same.
Somethings have improved, others have gotten worse.
We have made tremendous advances in saving lives, but some of those who are saved have so many other health issues, they have no quality of life.
I can't remember anyone having food allergies when I was a kid in the early 1960's, now it seems there's at least one kid in everyone of my kids classes has some severe food allergy.
Oh well, this could be a great launching pad for a discussion of religious, morals and politics, but those aren't allowed here, so I sign off.

 

[minkydog]

Oh well, this could be a great launching pad for a discussion of religious, morals and politics, but those aren't allowed here, so I sign off.

Oh, yeah, let's not go there.

 

[LukenDC]

I think that every era has its burdens and injustices. Many people are nostalgic about the 1950s, but that decade had its problems too. Korean War, intense Cold War, polio, segregation, McCarthyism, to name a few.

 

[christiane]

I guess it depends on far we go back for the good old days! When I saw the title of your post, I was thinking of my own childhood (1970's/1980's). We had all the good things already by then (eg penicillin, human rights) but we also seemed to still have a more innocent time.

When I think of all the things my children are exposed to today in their lives & in the media, I definitely long for the good old days of my childhood. But I don't long for the time before that.

 

[klacey1]

SAHM's were pretty much an invention of the mid-20th century, and only because we were prosperous enough to support them. Before that, most women worked.

My great-grandmother worked - she ran a bar and took in washing. My grandmother stayed home and was miserable. My mother worked, because she had to support herself and me. I was lucky enough to be the first to actually have a CHOICE - and after spending some time in the military, I chose to stay home and be a SAHM. I think I'm the most fortunate of them all.



Um, my husband and I bought a house when my daughter was almost one. We're still living in it and have no intention of moving. It meets our needs.

My great-great-grandmother emigrated from Ireland to the US. My great-grandmother, on the other hand, had to move constantly to find work. My grandmother married a military man and followed him where ever he was posted. My mother emigrated to Canada with me. I'm the first one in memory to actually raise a family in a "Family Home".

AND I have penicillin. By this standard, I'm definitely luckier than all of them.



Some teachers were always the bad guys - it's just now we sometimes actually listen to kids when they try to tell us that things aren't right in the classroom. I had one particularly creepy teacher who used to have us girls comb her hair - she treated it like a special privilege. And another who would "inspect" our underwear to make sure we weren't wearing anything against school code.

I like the fact that we hold teachers to a higher standard these days!



Clearly you've never been to one of our block parties!



I'm sorry if I'm taking advantage of your sleep-deprived state, and I do understand what you're getting at. But I disagree. I know that things aren't perfect, but I do believe they're a heck of a lot better than they've ever been - at least over the last 100 years.

I have fairly complete histories of my family. I don't envy my great-great-something grandmother as a young girl cleaning houses in a foreign country. The first time she saw stairs was in her employer's home and she crawled up them on her hands and knees. They laughed at her for being "stupid" and "Irish" and for not knowing how to wear shoes, and they called her Brigit, even though that wasn't her name. It was just what you called all Irish girls.

I don't envy my great-grandmother, abandoned by her husband and trying to get by during a time when women had limited rights.

And my mom's life sure wasn't any bed of roses!

I feel very, very lucky to have been born when I was, and when I look around I see a lot of hope for the future.

Couldn't agree more.

 

[FireDancer]

People often remember the good things about the past and forget the bad. I wouldn't trade living today for living in the past at all.

Most of the perceived "new" problems today existed in the good old days too. It isn't any more dangerous today as it was 20 years ago in reality, we just hear about it more because of the speed and reach of information. In the 1950's a kid abducted and killed in Utah wouldn't make the news outside of Utah so the world was perceived as safer. Kids ride their bikes around my neighborhood now just like I did and my parents did.

Information has never been cheaper and more readily available. The answer to almost any question you have is available...on you phone. For almost every bad think the Internet makes easier it also makes preventing it easier.

The people who talk about the 50's as the good ole days forget that you still had separate bathrooms for "the coloreds", women were not treated equally in many aspects of life, many jobs were hazardous not only because of their nature (manufacturing for example) but because safety measures were either primitive or non-existent, there were nuclear bomb drills, and God forbid you have a copy of the Communist Manifesto on your bookshelf. Your neighbors might just turn you in a "red".

No, I'll take the present over the past any day. I love history and it is important to study and learn from it but I have no intention to live in it.

 

[bicker]

But, would we really be better off in a world in which type 1 diabetes and childhood cancer was almost universally fatal? When women were barred from the military, police force, fire fighting, and medical school? Would we be better off without that "new" wonder drug, penicillin? One hundred years ago the only voters were white men. Treatment for depression was almost non-existent. More soldiers died of gangrene, pneumonia, diptheria, and typhoid than bullets and mortars. Large parts of rural America had no electricity or toilets. Most babies born before 35 weeks didn't make it. Pedophiles and rapists were rarely prosecuted. Domestic violence was as common as rain and just as acceptable.

I think not. What say you?

You're 100% on-target. The reality is that whatever was better about the past cannot hold a candle to how much of our lives are better now.

 

[golfgal]

I think there is a PRESUMED sense of danger for kids these days. There are VERY few places in the country where kids shouldn't be able to ride their bikes where ever and have the same freedoms we had as kids. Like FireDancer said, we just have too much access to information so it SEEMS more dangerous. Kids were kidnapped, raped, abused 50 years ago you just never heard about it. PARENTS are creating this fearful society by not teaching their kids how to cross a street safely or allowing kids to go play at the park, etc. Luckily our kids DID have all these freedoms .

These loss of freedoms are in no way tied to advances in technology, except for maybe the internet.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Well, I don't see it as either/or, I see it as both. My point is that we often idealize the good ole days, forgetting that there are always two sides. Mayberry was a fake town in a feel good TV show. How many of us actually grew up in a place where nothing really bad ever happened and everyone got along? Probably very few.

Eh, bad example. Mayberry is based on an actualy town, where the actress who played Andy Griffith's girlfriend lives.

 

[bicker]

The point is that where she grew up wasn't really just like depicted on television. The television show depicted a fiction.