Posted on 04/06/2016 9:00:44 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Is America a better place today than it was back in 1956? Of course many Americans living right now couldn’t even imagine a world without cell phones, Facebook or cable television, but was life really so bad back then? 60 years ago, families would actually spend time on their front porches and people would actually have dinner with their neighbors. 60 years ago, cars were still cars, football was still football and it still meant something to be an American. In our country today, it is considered odd to greet someone as they are walking down the street, and if someone tries to be helpful it is usually because they want something from you. But things were very different in the middle of the last century. Men aspired to be gentlemen and women aspired to be ladies, and nobody had ever heard of “bling”, “sexting” or “twerking”. Of course life was far from perfect, but people actually had standards and they tried to live up to them.
So how did it all go so wrong?
Could it be possible that life in America peaked back then and we have been in decline ever since?
Before you answer, I want to share with you a list of comparisons between life in America in 1956 and life in America in 2016…
In 1956, John Wayne, Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe were some of the biggest stars in the entertainment world.
In 2016, our young people look up to “stars” like Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga.
In 1956, Americans were watching I Love Lucy and The Ed Sullivan Show on television.
In 2016, the major television networks are offering us trashy shows such as Mistresses and Lucifer.
In 1956, you could buy a first-class stamp for just 3 cents.
In 2016, a first-class stamp will cost you 49 cents.
In 1956, gum chewing and talking in class were some of the major disciplinary problems in our schools.
In 2016, many of our public schools have been equipped with metal detectors because violence has gotten so far out of control.
In 1956, children went outside and played when they got home from school.
In 2016, our parks and our playgrounds are virtually empty and we have the highest childhood obesity rate on the entire planet.
In 1956, if a kid skinned his knee he was patched up and sent back outside to play.
In 2016, if a kid skins his knee he is likely to be shipped off to the emergency room.
In 1956, “introducing solids” to a baby’s diet may have meant shoving a piece of pizza down her throat.
In 2016, we have “attachment parenting” which advocates treating children like babies almost until they reach puberty.
In 1956, seat belts and bicycle helmets were considered to be optional pieces of equipment, and car safety seats were virtually unknown.
In 2016, millions of us are afraid to leave our homes for fear that something might happen to us, and if something does happen we slap lawsuits on one another at the drop of a hat.
In 1956, many Americans regularly left their cars and the front doors of their homes unlocked.
In 2016, many Americans live with steel bars on their windows and gun sales are at all-time record highs.
In 1956, about 5 percent of all babies in America were born to unmarried parents.
In 2016, more than 40 percent of all babies in America will be born to unmarried parents.
In 1956, one income could support an entire middle class family.
In 2016, approximately one-third of all Americans don’t make enough money to even cover the basics even though both parents have entered the workforce in most households.
In 1956, redistribution of wealth was considered to be something that “the communists” did.
In 2016, the federal government systematically redistributes our wealth, and two communists are fighting for the Democratic nomination.
In 1956, there were about 2 million people living in Detroit and it was one of the greatest cities on Earth.
In 2016, there are only about 688,000 people living in Detroit and it has become a joke to the rest of the world.
In 1956, millions of Americans dreamed of moving out to sunny California.
In 2016, millions of Americans are moving out of California and never plan to go back.
In 1956, television networks would not even show husbands and wives in bed together.
In 2016, there is so much demand for pornography that there are more than 4 million adult websites on the Internet, and they get more traffic than Netflix, Amazon and Twitter combined.
In 1956, the American people had a great love for the U.S. Constitution.
In 2016, “constitutionalists” are considered to be potential terrorists by the U.S. government.
In 1956, people from all over the world wanted to come to the United States to pursue “the American Dream”.
In 2016, 48 percent of all U.S. adults under the age of 30 believe that “the American Dream is dead”.
In 1956, the United States loaned more money to the rest of the world than anybody else.
In 2016, the United States owes more money to the rest of the world than anybody else.
And there is one more thing that I would like to share with you before I wrap up this article.
This is what the New York skyline looked like on March 31st, 1956…
And this is the kind of thing that we are seeing displayed on the Empire State Building these days…
For those that don’t know, that is an image of the Hindu goddess of death, time and destruction known as Kali. And next month a reproduction of the 48-foot-tall arch that stood in front of the Temple of Baal in Palmyra, Syria is going up in Times Square.
So now that you have seen what I have to share, what do you think?
Has America changed for the better, or has it changed for the worse?
floor dimmer switches were MUCH better.
Our parks were well used and clean most of the time. They have been appropriated by thugs and miscreants now. No good family goes to them anymore.
As well as GI Loans, which fueled the housing boom and large scale developments such as Levittown.
The houses were small by today's standards. In Washington DC, a newly constructed 2 story brick and block attached house with a full basement could be had for just under $5000. Plastered interior walls, steel casement windows, 1 bath for 3 bedrooms. Narrow kitchen with refrigerator, gas oven/range and sink. The full unfinished basement had the oil fired forced air furnace, oil tank, double laundry sink, water heater and a WC. The ground foot print was about 400 sf.
That particular dbl house was repeated over a six block cluster. Average family had two to three kids with some having five. Durable starter homes for WWII and Korean War vets.
Oh... to pick nits, never ever saw a bicycle helmet offered at Sears or Western Auto, the primary purveyors of bikes in 1956. The only bike helmet I ever saw was a painted GI helmet liner worn by a neighbor called Mousie. Hell, motorcycle riders hardly wore the and the Snell Foundation hadn't started their studies.
There might not be enough good families that care. Pretty grim.
Freegards
I’m just thankful to be alive in the time allotted to me here on earth. I can’t go back and live in the 1950s. None of us can. I had no choice when or where I was born.You play with the cards dealt to you.
Ahh the rose colored glasses of the past. Never mind that in 1956 they were thinking the same thing about their era compared to 50 years before. I especially like how think Monroe (drug overdose, very sexualized), Presley (drug overdose, very sexualized) and Wayne (multiple marriages, philandery) were such better role models than the stars of today. And from there the list just keeps being silly.
Wow! We didn’t have school buses in my town.
That’s a good point.
But man what about stuff like parks and campsites, or rest stops along the highways being plagued by weirdos? Why does that happen now, and didn’t happen then, at least on as big a scale? Or is that wrong? I mean they have huge volunteer ‘condom cleanups’ in some urban parks.
Freegards
“We used to ride the street car in town and used either red or green plastic tokens - believe they called them mills but it was too long ago to remember. “
What city was that? As a boy I got to ride the streetcar in Washington DC before they pulled up the tracks. Whittaker Chambers had helped build them as a laborer in the early 1900s.
“No credit cards, counter checks at all the stores and people used layaway and paid $1.00 or so a week until their items were paid for. Life was good.”
I remember my folks using layaway to make purchases. And I think they could open a store credit account for larger purchases like appliances. The earliest ‘credit card’ was Diner’s Club and it probably had to be paid off each month. The world of personal finance was designed to encourage thrift and prudence, it didn’t encourage you to get yourself into trouble. Maybe that habit was a result of the Great Depression just 20 years earlier
It wasn’t until I was in high school in the 60s that I remember Bank of America rolling out their BankAmericard which evolved into Visa and Mastercard and the rest of the enticements to personal debt.
Sorry, I doubt it. I really do.
What do you doubt, that there are or aren’t enough good people and families that now care?
Freegards
In 1956, John Wayne, Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe were some of the biggest stars in the entertainment world.
But really, who cares and what difference does it make? Not all paragons of virtue in all ways nor role models without exception. Who is though? I’d rather point to the likes of Jimmy Stewart.
Wayne had a lot of good attributes to recommend him but he really drank too much.
Elvis started out well enough but seems to have gotten more than a little warped.
Monroe was beautiful and attractive but her merits just about ended there.
YES, I doubt that there are enough good people and / or good families that care and can or will make a difference in molding a nation of children that can make America great with common goals again.
Eww! My eyes! My eyes!
The streetcar we used was right down the middle of Minnesota Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas. My adoptive dad was born in 1898 and my adoptive mom was born in 1915. They never had a credit card or bought anything on credit, except for the last car my mom purchased when I was a teenager. All I remember about it was that it was a Nash, ugly yellow color and looked like a bathtub. But they thought it was wonderful because the driver’s seat reclined!
My mom died in 2003 and I brought her Frigidare refrigerator which was very, very, very old to my home. It’s in the garage now and still runs. They do not make them like that any more.
What state would that have been?
my mother used to say the word “rotter” a lot especially when we would beat her at her favorite card game, Rook....
I remember teachers who LOVED teaching...
I remember when nursing and teaching were VOCATIONS, not just jobs....
Probably right, at least in my opinion. Like I said, pretty grim stuff.
Freegards
Private construction firms did the actual building of the Interstate System so I don’t quite get your objection. How is this any different than how other highways have been built?
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