The Good Old Days? I Beg To Differ.

Every generation laments about the "good old days". We need to stop wishing for the good old days. Life is what you make it NOW.

Although I agree that the world is far from perfect and we all need to take responsiblity for our actions, I don't think the good ol'days are behind us. In fact, I believe that the good ol'days aren't as good as you remember...

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Back 150 years ago, many people argued that slaves enjoyed their station in life (basically because they were judged mentally inferior savages and they needed taken care of, like cattle) and if it wasn't for Lincoln, we would all be living in a wonderful symbiotic relationship. I'm sure the slaves had a much different point of view.

And way before that, The Puritans probably thought everything went to hell in a hand basket after someone told them they couldn't burn "witches" anymore.

Now, it's been suggested by others (I won't mention names) that the civil rights/woman rights movement was a bad thing and the downfall of our society.

Sorry, but I don't agree that tethering a woman to her duties in the kitchen while a man gets to enjoy life anyway he wants is the "good ol'days." I'm a stay at home mom, and I'm lucky I have that choice. But I think I should have the right to chose. I love being home with my kids, I wouldn't trade it for anything, but I should have the right to pursue other dreams if I want to. Anyone who suggests otherwise is denying my worth as a human being. Why am I less of a mother for doing so? Is a father less than a father if he works and pursues his dreams?

I don't believe treating black people as second class citizens is the "good ol'days" I'm not saying I'm impressed with the way many blacks chose to live their lives, but I can equally say that for whites too. I also know many black people that have made positive contribuations to our society, because they had the option to do so. This is the land of opportunity, and no one should be shoved to the back of the bus because of their skin color.

Let's put aside civil rights for a moment, and just consider the other elements of the "good ol'days":

• Polio, whooping cough, and other devastating diseases
• Higher infant morality rate
• More women dying in child birth
• Organized crime was started in the "good ol'days" . Can't blame Generation X, Y, or Z for that!
• More women and children putting up with physical and emotional abuse, because society turned a blind eye to the problem. And women couldn't just simply leave, because most of the time, they had no way of supporting themselves.

Every single generation feels nostalgic for the good ol'days, and they would be quick to tell you that your good ol'days can never hold a candle to their good ol'days. It's just human mind set, not fact; it's only what they hold dear in their minds. Their experiences, their memories are always the best ones and lets face it, we always tend to remember things as better than they actually were.

For instance, that first love; you broke up with them because they were clingy and annoying, but a few years later, all you can recall is how sweet and kind they were. We tend to put on beer goggles when we look into the past.

I do the same thing. I think 70's and 80's were the good ol'days, but then I remember Junior High. (shutter).

I admit, I love the 1930's and 1940's with their glamour, music, clothes, and movies. People seemed classier then; they looked so cool... smoking their 2 packs of cigerettes a day (because it was "healthy", even doctors recommended it!) and dying from lung cancer at 45.

"Ah, them were the days!" See, not everything was as great as we remember!

One thing I will agree with is the family unit seems to be disintegrating. Kids are growing up to be total airheads and irresponsible adults. Drug use is rampant.

So women and blacks wanting to be treated like equal human beings is to blame? Really? I wish I could see the connection.

Maybe the good ol'days cultivated it's own downfall. The economy in the 40's and 50's was great, people had more money and also more free time. They tended to over-indulge their children, slack off, and as a result, got spoiled. Prosperity makes people soft, makes them less appreciative and more materialistic. New technology gave people more free time to goof off and be bored.

You know what they say about idle hands.

And now the older generation is whining about the result. I say, you created this problem, the older generation. Hard times and hard work build character! Kids used to work their butts off on a farm to survive; they didn't have time to experiment with drugs or stir up trouble. When you move the family out to suburbia, they rely less on themselves for survival. They didn't have to walk 5 miles to school in a snow storm. They didn't have to get up and milk the cows everyday. (I'm not talking about "Farmtown" people, I'm talking about actually tilling real soil, being responsible for real animals. I know that's a strange concept for this generation to grasp). Hard work and the preservance to survive seems to be major difference I see when I compare my generation to my grandparents' generation; however, no one seems to be blaming our prosperity and subsequent laziness as the downfall of society.

No...it's easier to blame women and blacks, I suppose, and their silly pursuit of equality. What a strange idea! You'd think that was written somewhere, like on a national document.

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I believe the civil rights movement helped men out too! Before that era, it was considered "un-manly" to be a nurse or a teacher. Nowadays, you guys can pursue your dream in those fields and it's widely accepted.

The man who looks for security, even in the mind, is like a man who would chop off his limbs in order to have artificial ones which will give him no pain or trouble. ~Henry Miller

If you're in a bad situation, don't worry it'll change. If you're in a good situation, don't worry it'll change. ~John A. Simone, Sr.

Growth is the only evidence of life. ~John Henry Newman, Apologia pro vita sua, 1864

Stubborness does have its helpful features. You always know what you are going to be thinking tomorrow. ~Glen Beaman

If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies. ~Author Unknown

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."-Walt Disney.

I've gone off on a lot of different tangents and digressed a bit, but like I mentioned before, the good old days are what you make them.

If you think the good old days are behind you, there isn't much I can do to convince you otherwise. Your life will always be stagnant, frozen in whatever era you believed was the best, and always blaming society for failing you.

You have the choice to make this time of your life great. That's what greatness is all about, after all: the ability to mold your environment and future to be the best it can be.

So, stop thinking backwards and try living in the here and now. Maybe you'll see things aren't so bad.