Perspectives
Often I hear about those "good old days". I'm not entirely sure if there is a solid definition of the term, as I've noticed that "good old days" refers to different times to different people. Perhaps we can all say that the good old days ended January 20, 2001, when George W. took office, but I find that there are still twelve or thirteen Americans who believe he's still better than Bill Clinton was.
So, let's look at some of these good old days and figure out how good they really were:
1950's: Historically we look upon this decade as one of innocence and rock and roll. There is far more to it than that, however. We had over 50,000 troops killed in the Korean War. There was McCarthyism -- a frightening plague that ruined the lives of scores of people. The civil rights movement began in earnest, and as we should all know it was not met with open arms. And to make matters worse, we were getting our butts whipped in space by the Russians. All this while under the constant threat of nuclear war, a threat that would permeate our lives until 1989.
1960's: Flower power is overrated. Let's be serious here. The sixties may have been one of the two worst decades of the good old days. We had the Vietnam War, which cost the lives of over 50,000 soldiers. We had an increasingly tense civil rights movement. Riots destroyed places like Watts and Detroit. We saw the four great men of the decade fall to assassin's bullets (JFK, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and RFK). Drugs may have been introduced to mainstream America before the sixties, but America's love affair with illicits began here. Protesting war led to bad treatment of American soldiers returning from southeast Asia. And though we put a man on the moon, we nearly destroyed mankind in the Cuban missile crisis.
1970's: Where to begin? The hangover decade saw the beginnings of Muslim terrorism. We had a major oil crisis (I remember the lines at the gas stations as a kid) that makes this one we're in look like a little blip on the radar. There was the Kent State affair. A U.S. president was taken down in the Watergate scandal. We celebrated the nation's 200th birthday with the worst economy since the Great Depression. The decade ended with the Iranian hostage crisis. But they did have the best music back then.
1980's: That return to prominence in the Reagan years. Yes, wasn't that the good old days? Let's see. Homelessness in America reaches heights not seen since Hoovervilles. A new kind of virus is discovered that attacks the immune system, a virus that will ultimately kill millions of people around the world. The gap between rich and poor widens. And while the rich and famous enjoy their champagne and cocaine lifestyle, the poor are treated to a newer, cheaper and more dangerous form of cocaine called crack. Crime statistics begin to rise to levels never seen in this country's history. Terrorists kill Marines in Beirut and learn a valuable lesson in the process -- that terrorist acts truly frighten Americans.
1990's: Yeah, right. There is a reason that the violence of Guns n' Roses and the desperation of Nirvana were all over the air waves. The nineties opened with a crime wave never seen in America. The crackheads of the eighties unified and became street gangs in the nineties. Teenage pregnancies hit an all-time high. We had nationwide riots after the Rodney King trial. The first generation entered the workforce with fewer opportunities than their predecessors since the graduating class of 1930. A president's love affairs became a national crisis. The World Trade Center was bombed, as was the U.S.S. Cole and some U.S. embassies and we continued our policy of not handling terrorism -- a policy that had begun in the early seventies. America became more and more polarized between left and right as Rush Limbaugh and Fox News gained in popularity.
We've always had our crises. There were no good old days.
So, let's look at some of these good old days and figure out how good they really were:
1950's: Historically we look upon this decade as one of innocence and rock and roll. There is far more to it than that, however. We had over 50,000 troops killed in the Korean War. There was McCarthyism -- a frightening plague that ruined the lives of scores of people. The civil rights movement began in earnest, and as we should all know it was not met with open arms. And to make matters worse, we were getting our butts whipped in space by the Russians. All this while under the constant threat of nuclear war, a threat that would permeate our lives until 1989.
1960's: Flower power is overrated. Let's be serious here. The sixties may have been one of the two worst decades of the good old days. We had the Vietnam War, which cost the lives of over 50,000 soldiers. We had an increasingly tense civil rights movement. Riots destroyed places like Watts and Detroit. We saw the four great men of the decade fall to assassin's bullets (JFK, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and RFK). Drugs may have been introduced to mainstream America before the sixties, but America's love affair with illicits began here. Protesting war led to bad treatment of American soldiers returning from southeast Asia. And though we put a man on the moon, we nearly destroyed mankind in the Cuban missile crisis.
1970's: Where to begin? The hangover decade saw the beginnings of Muslim terrorism. We had a major oil crisis (I remember the lines at the gas stations as a kid) that makes this one we're in look like a little blip on the radar. There was the Kent State affair. A U.S. president was taken down in the Watergate scandal. We celebrated the nation's 200th birthday with the worst economy since the Great Depression. The decade ended with the Iranian hostage crisis. But they did have the best music back then.
1980's: That return to prominence in the Reagan years. Yes, wasn't that the good old days? Let's see. Homelessness in America reaches heights not seen since Hoovervilles. A new kind of virus is discovered that attacks the immune system, a virus that will ultimately kill millions of people around the world. The gap between rich and poor widens. And while the rich and famous enjoy their champagne and cocaine lifestyle, the poor are treated to a newer, cheaper and more dangerous form of cocaine called crack. Crime statistics begin to rise to levels never seen in this country's history. Terrorists kill Marines in Beirut and learn a valuable lesson in the process -- that terrorist acts truly frighten Americans.
1990's: Yeah, right. There is a reason that the violence of Guns n' Roses and the desperation of Nirvana were all over the air waves. The nineties opened with a crime wave never seen in America. The crackheads of the eighties unified and became street gangs in the nineties. Teenage pregnancies hit an all-time high. We had nationwide riots after the Rodney King trial. The first generation entered the workforce with fewer opportunities than their predecessors since the graduating class of 1930. A president's love affairs became a national crisis. The World Trade Center was bombed, as was the U.S.S. Cole and some U.S. embassies and we continued our policy of not handling terrorism -- a policy that had begun in the early seventies. America became more and more polarized between left and right as Rush Limbaugh and Fox News gained in popularity.
We've always had our crises. There were no good old days.
posted by E-Luv at 9:04 AM
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