No, it cannot be this way again. The old America is gone forever. But, we look not at things that are seen, but at things that are not seen. For the things that are seen pass away, but the things that are unseen abide forever.
I was reading through the comments section expecting the usual 'aktually' response from the mind-altering odiferous vaping cloud of some Boomer-hating Gen-whatever miscreant, but I assure you, we're not missing anything in the absence of one. They can only wildly gesticulate about something they've never lived through nor can ever hope to experience.
You know, what kept coming to mind when I read through this was Galatians 6:7, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
Big changes in the laws and culture happened all through the 1960's, but as we all know, changes in law and government regulations are glacial and typically have their origins years before. Among the changes? Denial of God's right to exist in government dealings and in our schools.
What else changed?
My ultimate take is that prosperity changed our moral compass - and continues to do so - in a very negative way. We have so many blessings that, like the ancient Israelites, we forgot God and turned our backs on Him. In times of prosperity, we don't have to work nearly as hard or sacrifice as much of our time to obtain the **necessities** of living. Prosperity gave us practically everything we need or might want, and so we stop communicating with God.
We might learn about this tendency by observing a pattern in the book of Judges.
Israel gets oppressed by some enemy, they cry out and God raises up a judge to get them back in alignment with obedience to the covenant. The enemy is vanquished and Israel enjoys an extended period of peace and prosperity.....and then the next chapter starts off, "And again, the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord..."
Rinse, cycle, repeat.
Maybe this is a simplistic view, but I think it's a universal result - all nations in history have had a similar cycle, only now we're in an extended downward spiral, buoyed only by decades of prosperity and continued insulation from the harsher struggles of just surviving in the wilderness.
Today, we avoid suffering and difficulty like the plague - every meeting I've ever attended finds the decisions being made on what's the "easiest" or whatever the "low hanging fruit" might be and rarely, perhaps never, a decision to do the right things the right way. And these are usually quite more difficult and expensive, so never get chosen.
In 1976, our 8th grade history teacher took us to Philadelphia for the nation's bicentennial celebrations. She was a proud patriot and talked about the founding fathers like they were her friends and acquaintances. That kind of instruction is rare today, I believe.
Jim, I miss it, too. Our children need to feel what American exceptionalism felt like then. They need to feel what we feel when we see thugs lowering the Stars and Stripes and burning it as they raise a p alistinian flag in its place. Why are these Marxist thugs not held accountable???
The particulars may be different but in all other respects you are describing the UK as it was in days past. Only those of us who have lived through such times can appreciate what we have lost and the swamp we now live in.
You are so right... when I try to explain that to people under 40 years of age they cannot understand how it was back then. They have no point of reference like we do...
I’m deeply troubled and saddened that younger people have been ripped off by the moral degradation so gladly embraced by many today.
My young grand nephews will navigate a sin-hardened landscape of illusion and degradation. They will likely never attain the proverbial American Dream — and may never even realize it.
Bible cautions us against lamenting the contemporary moment by staying anchored to “ the Good Old Days.” A tall order, to be sure.
I would love it if “things” were still as they were in the early ‘60s of my youth. I miss the remembered simplicity and relative serenity.
Paul put things into perspective for us 20 centuries ago:
“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” —Philippians 3:13-14
Our best days are in front of us. And Christ is the only way through the mess which surrounds us.
Kinda makes me feel very sad reading this article. I feel a profound sense of loss. Because it described the day and age I once knew. But, no more. :-/
Growing up in a small Lowcountry, SC town, life was very "Mayberryish". Doors were not locked. The rules were, "respect your elders" and "be home before dark". A neighbor or friends mom was just as likely to discipline you as your own. A switch and ivory soap (to clean out the potty mouth) were standard measures of discipline. The teacher was always right ...
Then the 60s happened.
Total cultural upheaval. I spent most of the 70s in the Navy and even there the cultural changes were taking place.
Thankfully God finally got hold of my life before I self-destructed .
Thanks for this walk down memory lane. I tell some of these things to my daughter - who listens, mainly w/surprise - but my grandchildren can barely comprehend. The first gas price I recall was 25 cents/gal. Also recall walking to school in kindergarten thru early elem, none of my parents friends or my friends parents being divorced, playing outside until dark, and the oft-repeated slogan, "I like Ike."
Another world. Also recall the "family car" (Ford, if memory serves) in your photo. Friend's parents had a black model, which reminds me that the typical family household operated quite adequately with 1 car and 1 breadwinner - and 1 landline telephone.
I remember some of these times! I was born in 1965 and I grew in the 1970s! To me as a kid "The Partridge Family" and "The Brady Bunch was what normal America was like and the people I knew and Families acted that way! But my parents divorced in the early 1970s and I woke up one day and experienced a different world! It was just me and my mother and I was raised by a bitter and angry single mother! But at the time my parents divorced I felt like everybody knew it! At school everybody knew that my parents divorced! My classmates treated me differently and I basically became an outcast and felt out of place! I pretty much became a loner and stayed to myself much of the time all through school and high-school! I actually hated school because I didn't fit in! I of course had friends that felt the same way I did at school! I just basically bided my time all throughout school because we all had to go whether we liked it or not! I felt free after graduation! I decided what I wanted to do and went to college! I'm still a loner today pretty much today too, my husband is my only family! I never had any children. My husband had 3 children from his previous marriage when we met and he had just been divorced from his first marriage! This year me and my husband have been together for 31years! My husband is a little older than me and he definitely remembers what life was like back then! When I was growing up in the 1970s some of those things were still around too! Comparing life back then to what life is now is as different as night and day! Things were hard back then at times but it was nothing like today is, people have just thrown away morality and decency!
"We studied American history, math, science, and civics in school."
American history AND civics- the good, the bad and the ugly.
True, many younger Americans do not appreciate the Bill of Rights because they have never read it, or even if they do, they struggle to understand its significance due to negative preconceived ideas.
Thank you for such a timely article, on Veterans Day! Thanks for allowing comments. I found your article today. Growing up, in the 1960s & 1970s, it's certain that, whatever this once great nation is now, the country isn't the one, in which I grew up. Wake up, not woke up, America -- if it's not already too late. A good spanking from the Lord and a spiritual revival are needed!
No, it cannot be this way again. The old America is gone forever. But, we look not at things that are seen, but at things that are not seen. For the things that are seen pass away, but the things that are unseen abide forever.
Well said Joe!
TLDR; Consequences.
I was reading through the comments section expecting the usual 'aktually' response from the mind-altering odiferous vaping cloud of some Boomer-hating Gen-whatever miscreant, but I assure you, we're not missing anything in the absence of one. They can only wildly gesticulate about something they've never lived through nor can ever hope to experience.
You know, what kept coming to mind when I read through this was Galatians 6:7, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
Big changes in the laws and culture happened all through the 1960's, but as we all know, changes in law and government regulations are glacial and typically have their origins years before. Among the changes? Denial of God's right to exist in government dealings and in our schools.
What else changed?
My ultimate take is that prosperity changed our moral compass - and continues to do so - in a very negative way. We have so many blessings that, like the ancient Israelites, we forgot God and turned our backs on Him. In times of prosperity, we don't have to work nearly as hard or sacrifice as much of our time to obtain the **necessities** of living. Prosperity gave us practically everything we need or might want, and so we stop communicating with God.
We might learn about this tendency by observing a pattern in the book of Judges.
Israel gets oppressed by some enemy, they cry out and God raises up a judge to get them back in alignment with obedience to the covenant. The enemy is vanquished and Israel enjoys an extended period of peace and prosperity.....and then the next chapter starts off, "And again, the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord..."
Rinse, cycle, repeat.
Maybe this is a simplistic view, but I think it's a universal result - all nations in history have had a similar cycle, only now we're in an extended downward spiral, buoyed only by decades of prosperity and continued insulation from the harsher struggles of just surviving in the wilderness.
Today, we avoid suffering and difficulty like the plague - every meeting I've ever attended finds the decisions being made on what's the "easiest" or whatever the "low hanging fruit" might be and rarely, perhaps never, a decision to do the right things the right way. And these are usually quite more difficult and expensive, so never get chosen.
And yes, this too has consequences.
Not only do I miss this America. My heart is so sad that my nieces and nephews will never know what it used to be like.
In 1976, our 8th grade history teacher took us to Philadelphia for the nation's bicentennial celebrations. She was a proud patriot and talked about the founding fathers like they were her friends and acquaintances. That kind of instruction is rare today, I believe.
Almost non-existent except in Christian schools...
One other thing, those service stations that were opened on Sunday, often sold pantyhose because Mom’s everywhere needed them for church.
Thanks for the comment... I didn't know that!
Jim, I miss it, too. Our children need to feel what American exceptionalism felt like then. They need to feel what we feel when we see thugs lowering the Stars and Stripes and burning it as they raise a p alistinian flag in its place. Why are these Marxist thugs not held accountable???
Because other Marxist thugs are also the ones who be the prosecutors...
Great short read on what we see here in America today.
https://www.patriotoutreach.org/docs/Brainwashing.pdf
Thanks... I check it out.
The particulars may be different but in all other respects you are describing the UK as it was in days past. Only those of us who have lived through such times can appreciate what we have lost and the swamp we now live in.
You are so right... when I try to explain that to people under 40 years of age they cannot understand how it was back then. They have no point of reference like we do...
Great post.
I’m deeply troubled and saddened that younger people have been ripped off by the moral degradation so gladly embraced by many today.
My young grand nephews will navigate a sin-hardened landscape of illusion and degradation. They will likely never attain the proverbial American Dream — and may never even realize it.
Bible cautions us against lamenting the contemporary moment by staying anchored to “ the Good Old Days.” A tall order, to be sure.
I would love it if “things” were still as they were in the early ‘60s of my youth. I miss the remembered simplicity and relative serenity.
Paul put things into perspective for us 20 centuries ago:
“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” —Philippians 3:13-14
Our best days are in front of us. And Christ is the only way through the mess which surrounds us.
And eagerly await His return!
!!!
Kinda makes me feel very sad reading this article. I feel a profound sense of loss. Because it described the day and age I once knew. But, no more. :-/
Thank you for the comment Walt... it saddened me to write it.
BTW, I believe in the power of brokenness. Like a skilled surgeon, God wounds to heal.
My memories exactly.
Growing up in a small Lowcountry, SC town, life was very "Mayberryish". Doors were not locked. The rules were, "respect your elders" and "be home before dark". A neighbor or friends mom was just as likely to discipline you as your own. A switch and ivory soap (to clean out the potty mouth) were standard measures of discipline. The teacher was always right ...
Then the 60s happened.
Total cultural upheaval. I spent most of the 70s in the Navy and even there the cultural changes were taking place.
Thankfully God finally got hold of my life before I self-destructed .
Loved your comment!
Thanks for this walk down memory lane. I tell some of these things to my daughter - who listens, mainly w/surprise - but my grandchildren can barely comprehend. The first gas price I recall was 25 cents/gal. Also recall walking to school in kindergarten thru early elem, none of my parents friends or my friends parents being divorced, playing outside until dark, and the oft-repeated slogan, "I like Ike."
Another world. Also recall the "family car" (Ford, if memory serves) in your photo. Friend's parents had a black model, which reminds me that the typical family household operated quite adequately with 1 car and 1 breadwinner - and 1 landline telephone.
I remember some of these times! I was born in 1965 and I grew in the 1970s! To me as a kid "The Partridge Family" and "The Brady Bunch was what normal America was like and the people I knew and Families acted that way! But my parents divorced in the early 1970s and I woke up one day and experienced a different world! It was just me and my mother and I was raised by a bitter and angry single mother! But at the time my parents divorced I felt like everybody knew it! At school everybody knew that my parents divorced! My classmates treated me differently and I basically became an outcast and felt out of place! I pretty much became a loner and stayed to myself much of the time all through school and high-school! I actually hated school because I didn't fit in! I of course had friends that felt the same way I did at school! I just basically bided my time all throughout school because we all had to go whether we liked it or not! I felt free after graduation! I decided what I wanted to do and went to college! I'm still a loner today pretty much today too, my husband is my only family! I never had any children. My husband had 3 children from his previous marriage when we met and he had just been divorced from his first marriage! This year me and my husband have been together for 31years! My husband is a little older than me and he definitely remembers what life was like back then! When I was growing up in the 1970s some of those things were still around too! Comparing life back then to what life is now is as different as night and day! Things were hard back then at times but it was nothing like today is, people have just thrown away morality and decency!
I, too, mourn for the days when the Western consensus was reason and faith.
Indeed, thank you for such a timely article!
"We studied American history, math, science, and civics in school."
American history AND civics- the good, the bad and the ugly.
True, many younger Americans do not appreciate the Bill of Rights because they have never read it, or even if they do, they struggle to understand its significance due to negative preconceived ideas.
It is clear now that the schools don't educate but only indoctrinate...
Thank you for such a timely article, on Veterans Day! Thanks for allowing comments. I found your article today. Growing up, in the 1960s & 1970s, it's certain that, whatever this once great nation is now, the country isn't the one, in which I grew up. Wake up, not woke up, America -- if it's not already too late. A good spanking from the Lord and a spiritual revival are needed!
I believe that punishment has already started...
America always had positives and negatives. In the time you described Jim, the positives greatly outnumbered the negatives.