Widreman, I don't believe you understand what the BIG PICTURE is!!!! I have read this entire thread. Life was much simpler in many ways "back then"(I was born in 1951).
Somewhat simpler yes. And it does happen that things inevitably become more complex as time goes on. But better? That's a different story.
I ahve seen NO ONE say that life is going to hell in a handbasket except you!! THE BIG PICTURE is exactly what this thread is about and I applaud MRSCHAD for posting it!!!! BTW, in case you didn't know it, MRSCHAD is only a few years older than you are.
The big picture is that things are getting better, not worse, though things are getting more complex and not simpler.
THE BIG PICTURE is about HISTORY, TODAY, AND THE FUTURE. If we did/do not learn from looking back at history and the mistakes others/we have made-
Is that what I did not just do? Did I not say how all through history people have yearned for the past and the good ol' days? And yet if I understand you correctly, you would say that the period of your childhood was the best in history. But that would mean that all those before you were wrong, for they had yet to reach the pinnacle of achievement that is the period in which you were a child. And then again, who's to say that you too are mistaken and that the real good times are either here now or yet to come? I look back on the days you so cherish and see a time of limited opportunities, the threat of global war, racism and a number of other things that I do not find desirable and prefer instead my own childhood. But you would say I am wrong. I say your wrong. The only way out is to say that everyone is wrong and that their perception of history is mistaken in that it is entirely subjective.
If we did not look back and remember the GOOD TIMES AND THE BAD TIMES we would be in a very sad state in this world today.
It's one thing to look at the past with a neutral eye to see all the good and the bad, but what I see is people looking back at a mythic past - a past that didn't exist - when all was very good but since then has gone downhill. That is unproductive and moreover, wrong.
There is not one person in this thread that has said that things are terrible now or that liberals are all wrong, etc.
Read between the lines. Read the original post:
"According to today's regulators and bureaucrats"
"We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound,
personal cell phones, personal computers, or Internet chat rooms." - implies they are all bad or an indication of decay from more perfect state.
"This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem
solvers, and inventors, ever. " - which is to say that such people are no longer being produced.
Sounds like the writer believes that things are going downhill.
YOU ARE THE ONE GENERALIZING everything and not looking at the HISTORY, THE GOOD OLE DAYS, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT.
I'm the one who is bothering to objectively look at history and see both the good AND THE BAD of the past. You are the ones who have automatically assigned all things in the past into the good category and all things in the present to the bad category. You completely miss the many, many good things of the present and the many, many bad things of the past. While they cannot all be enumerated here or anywhere, there are generally as many bad things as there are good things in each period (excluding periods of war or some other catastrophe). And generally speaking, humans have been progressing forward and things have been getting better. There is no sign that it is stopping, so I am immediately suspicious of people who start claiming that the past was better and that the present is troubled.
You obviously have a very sharp, analytical mind, and I perceive you are one who wants to make the world a better place by your presence. TO DO THAT ONE MUST OPEN THEIR EYES AND THEIR MIND WIDE AND TAKE IT ALL IN AND ACCEPT IT FOR WHAT IT IS AND USE IT FOR THE BETTERMENT OF ONESELF AND THE REST OF THE WORLD!!!
THAT'S WHAT I'M DOING! In fact, that's exactly why I dislike people who start making claims like the ones made in this thread.
THAT IS NOT ACCOMPLISHED BY TELLING OTHERS WHO HAVE MORE THAN TWICE THE LIFE EXPERIENCE YOU DO THAT WHAT THEY ARE DOING LOOKING BACK AND WAXING IDYLLIC ABOUT GOOD CHILDHOODS IS WRONG!!!
It's fine to say you enjoyed childhood, but to start turning that into a blanket statement about the state of society (which was, whether you believe it or not, what has been going on) is a completely different situation.
AS I SAID OPEN YOUR EYES AND MIND ALL THE WAY AND TAKE IT ALL IN AND USE IT IN ITS PROPER WAY INSTEAD OF TRYING TO TELL OTHERS THAT WHAT THEY ARE DOING IS WRONG!! AS HAS BEEN STATED BEFORE, I FEEL THAT IS VERY DISRESPECTFUL!!
I'm not one for undue respect. I don't respect this kind of thought because I find it dangerous and perhaps in fact disrespectful to those of us are going to be driving or participating in the changes (for the better) in the next steps of our society.
my Cowboys 
