Believe it, or not, good, or bad, we live in some very exciting times.
Remember just a few years ago when the cell phone was not the center of the universe? People talked during dinners, looked you in the eye and actually watched where they were going. No one took a look at their ‘device’ during a meeting, movie, show, or break in a conversation to grab their cell phone, check messages, or word chat with anyone about anything/nothing. They drove their vehicles without reading, or texting on their phones, thus preventing some form of death and mayhem?
Children were not committing suicide after being chastised over the Internet, or being cyber-bullied from afar. Now, being anonymous, you can spew hate, destroy without retribution. My, my, my, how times have changed.
The weather never excited anyone, since seasons came and went, usually without much note. Sure there were hot days, cold days and the occasional storm to pique interest and recall, but nothing like the daily reports of flooding, drought and disasters that we see today. Hmm, the climate seems to be ch-ch-changing.
You watched Walter Cronkite, believed in Walter and the media without suspicion. They presented you with news, not opinions, or presentations, by their paid ‘experts’ and ‘pundits’.
You were proud to see a group of immigrants raise their hand and take an oath to become a citizen. Today, we have become suspicious of those foreigners and what their motives are. What are they taking away from me?
Religions were Protestant, Catholic and the occasional Jewish persuasions. We tolerated all since they were Christian – Judea. Different, but close enough not to really make much of a difference.
People were coming to America to escape persecution, for a better life. Oh, wait, that really hasn’t changed, just our perception of what that means.
We lived within our means. Mom and dad never used credit cards and always had a sane plan to eliminate debt. They never would have thought about passing debt on to the next generation. If you had student loans, you paid student loans, and never let debt define your future.
Butter was butter and margarine was, whatever, as long as it tasted close to butter. Whenever you smelled a lilac, it was a lilac, not some chemical formulation that fooled your senses all year long.
You had a defined career, not just a way to pay the bills. Chances are, if you were a plumber or lawyer today, you would be a plumber or lawyer tomorrow. Now, you are a specialist, or just a run-of-the-mill whatever, who relies on computers to do a job or turn on a light.
Yeah, kids played ball, ran, were out of sight for hours at a time, but expected to be home for dinner. Now, DINNER? Out of sight for hours?
There were no government subsidies, grants, hand-outs. You need help, fine, but don’t expect to live on the dole.
Yeah, changes are and have happened. Believe it, or not, good, or bad, we live in some very exciting times.
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