catherine....
I really dont mean to pee in anyone’s cornflakes. Really.
The US today is still a great place. Think about where you live and the people around you. People that you actually know.
Are they really that different? I live in a town next to the “most dangerous city in America.” (A recent survey labelled it so.) We live on nice streets. Our lawns are mowed, and our houses are clean. The schools are great. I know my neighbors. We help each other out. We are welcoming to newcomers.
It is so much like the street I lived on as a kid—nice suburb of the same city.
My America is full of contributors. In my America, the kids might not be as successful as their parents, because the parents are so successful. But many of them are going to give us a run for our money.
Sure, if you turn on the TV you see news that is not nice. But that’s the news—stuff that is out of the ordinary.
Do I ever get nostalgic for my youth? Sure...but I think about my youth. Not some fairyland that was presented from Walt Disney’s mind. I think of my friends and the times we had.
In my youth, and I am not much older than you (54), I had several friends raped by priests. I had a friend murdered—probably by someone associated with the church—its still unsolved. I lost friends parents to the Vietnam war when their locally based bombers were shot down. I was in junior high when race riots tore through our city. My sister was caught up in busses being tipped over and lines of riot cops in front of her high school.
So, compared to my youth, today—in my town and the life of my kids (now 22 and 25) is a paradise compared to where and when I grew up.
I like to think forward. Not back. And while its fun to remember the Good ole days...remember ALL of the good ole days if you are being generic. If you are remembering YOUR youth, have at it. The early to late 60’s were not all that great, moral, or encouraging to all of us.
You’re not peeing in my cereal...or on my Kashi bar. We’re just having a discussion.
I know the “good old days” weren’t perfect. And I agree there are many, many things to be thankful for in our daily lives.
But overall, looking at the big picture, we’re well into cultural and moral rot. If I were to go back in time and describe this world to my grandparents, they wouldn’t believe me.
It isn’t a Disney fantasy to recognize that much. Sure, we have to move forward, but we also have to acknowledge that it’s a steep climb-—not a walk down a daisy-lined path.
And I’m sorry about your friends.