And this line:
worse, the countryside was infested by lawless men who would show no mercy to a girl who was traveling alone
should be sobering for those who think lawlessness and depravity just started after 1962 or so, and who pine for bucolic "good old days."
“should be sobering for those who think lawlessness and depravity just started after 1962 or so, and who pine for bucolic “good old days.”
Not really, war and it’s aftermath always results in disorder. British order was being broken down and would not be replaced for some time. That is what was so infuriating about the Iraq war, many (especially the media) thought you should be able to bring down a government and instantaneously replace it with a fully functioning government.
It was even worse after the Civil War, especially in the south. There were bands of deserters and other renegades that preyed on citizens long after the war. I also remember times when there was much less crime and depravity than currently exists.
1 of the reasons they were the good old days was because they got their due justice. No sitting around in a posh “prison” for a couple years and out. Problems, yes; but ask my mom about Baltimore just 60 years ago. Things WERE different.