The Good Old Days Aren't What They Used To be.
My Grampa used to talk about how much better things were when he was growing up in the 1920's. Everything was better, flowers smelled nicer, the sun was brighter and food tasted better. The way he saw it the country had been going steadily down hill after WWII. He even had nice things to say about the depression era. "We appreciated what little we had, not like spoiled kids today." My dad spoke the same about the late 40's and 50's when he grew up. I catch myself looking back fondly at my youth but I temper my nostalgia with the knowledge of what's good today.
Life was simpler back in the 60's and 70's. I believe people were generally nicer to one another. Neighbors looked after each other. The kid next door may as well be your own. Our values were different, it was a more innocent time and I believe we felt safer. These days you don't see kids riding their bicycles five or ten miles from home to get to the city pool or a swimming hole as we did back then. It just doesn't seem wise to do in 2008. As a kid we would be away some days from 9:00 to 5:00, miles from home as if it was our job to get out of mom's hair all day. "Be home for dinner at 5:30." was the only command on a summer day. I never heard of daycare and babysitters were for weekend nights when mom and dad went out.
Even if you grew up poor, as we did, you tend to look back at your childhood with rose colored glasses. The things we took for granted, like that bicycle freedom, seem wonderful compared to today. We recall how we found joy in the most basic pleasures and we didn't need money to have fun or travel to have a great summer. Aside from Christmas or a birthday we never asked our parents for toys or anything expensive. It just wasn't normal to be getting gifts and games all year long. We made our fun outdoors, we invented it, pretended and used our imaginations. A simple wooden stick had 1001 uses.
Sorry, I'm rambling like Grampa.........but things were great!
When I look back at those times I ask, "Were they really better?", and compare them to what we have today wondering if I would trade life in the 21st century to reclaim those idealistic and innocent times. First of all, they really weren't that innocent. We had our own war, high gas prices, lines at the pump, inflation, unemployment and a lousy president in the White House. Sound familiar? The life of a ten-year-old may have been less complicated but in my opinion we knew less of the world at that age than kids today. A 50-something, ten years older than I, would have a very different view of the late 60's and 70's, a time of protest, civil unrest and changing culture.
Being one that loves technology I would not give up the things we have today for the simpler times and return to those old values. The internet is a good example of something I'd rather have over my transistor radio tuned into the Red Sox, and I loved that radio. You can have the old rabbit ear antenna with foil twisted on top. I'll keep my HDTV and cable. You may long for and regret selling that 1966 muscle car but would you really rather drive that heap every day over a late model car? At least you could work on your own car back then. We can pine for the things of old and recall them with affection but I think we're better off today.
Every day dad would read the newspaper and we would watch the evening news after dinner. That and a little radio was your news. It's safe to say we're a little more informed and in tune with the larger world today even if the barrage of propaganda is nauseating. It's not safe to say the world is a better place but I think we have the potential to solve more problems though technology, medicine and what I believe is a more enlightened view of humanity. There's still hate and rancor but I think fewer people in the word have an 'us versus them' attitude. There is generally more tolerance and less bigotry but ignorance will never disappear. More people graduate high school, attend college and the standard of living is higher.
The good old days aren't what they used to be when objectively balanced against what we have today. I'm wondering if 40-something of people agree or do us middle-agers still look back 30 years the way Grampa and my dad once did. I'm guessing the kids aren't buying the 'good old days' claims today any more than we did. One thing will never change. We'll always think the music was better back in the day.