Was life better before the war and in the 50's?

a reply to: fusiondoe

This is a precious story and I'm not surprised that its better when people see the positives in things that are normally taken for granted when you have a lot, a lot of distraction that is.

Thanks for the input everybody.

Some great points of view

What I really want to know, is how many of you lived back in that time or are just repeating what you have heard and read.

I was there and it was good. There is no such thing as a perfect period of history. But is was damned close.
But for the average person, life was good. There were jobs if you wanted to work, in any field.
Wages and the cost of living were very close. A nice home $20-25,000. New car was $2000.
No crime, no dope and it was safe.

I said it before, and I'll say it again, if I could only take a hundred or so of you back with me to that time at lets spend oh, say at least 60 days or so, then you would know what it felt like to be a American citizen.



Buck

a reply to: mamabeth

Because it's Christmas and because I love the Rawhide song here's a present for you and the OP. Well, me too but I probably just prefer the Blues Brother's version.

From back in the days when it was safe to leave the kids in front of the telly.

a reply to: fusiondoe

I'm so sorry so many have turned this into a thread about discrimination & women's lib.

But I think that answers your question. We used to be able to talk about things without people jumping in screaming me me me.

It was a community. People mostly lived as if they weren't the only person alive. Now we live in a me me me culture and it is sad.

a reply to: DBCowboy

The difference is----we have options now. You don't have to have a complicated life-you can pick and choose.

In the 50s, there were not many options for women and blacks. If you couldn't afford a good education, either by living in a good neighborhood or personally paying for college-then you were out of luck. At least if you had to work a blue collar job, you could probably live a middle class life with a home and family-not true today.

Hell yeah life was better in the 50s, dem damned 'n-word's stayed away from our white womens

Was life better before the war and in the 50's?

Yes, from the beginning of WWII, despite the rationing and the violence of the war, until Kennedy's assassination were our best years.

a reply to: fusiondoe

It's really about nostalgia, isn't it? Some families had great lives back then and lived in areas where life was comfortable.

If we looked at South Africa, the whites had a great quality of life and the rest had little or no recourse to the law or equality. East Europe was under Soviet communism and they'd likely say the 50s were pretty sh^t with food queues and societal paranoia. South America was mostly screwed over by dictators and US puppet governments. The rest of Africa was pretty much at the whim of UK and US policies.

Britain was inviting 'foreigners' over from the Caribbean and India to replace the dead from WW2. Not so good for them when they turned up. It wasn't bad for the middle-classes and the upper classes are always OK no matter what. Working poor were screwed living in tenements and having few of the rights we enjoy today. Yeah, there's that thing about 'quit your job in the morning and start a new one in the afternoon.' On the other hand, people were fired for any random reason and had no comebacks.

Funnily enough, the 50s have been one of my favourite decades for years. I like the idealism of the times and the music resonates for some reason. A relative is 79 this week and spent her childhood in the Liverpool tenements before the family was able to work their way out. I love her dearly. She's lived a great life and sees the Fifties as the golden era.

Of all the decades, the 1950s/60s seem to me the best with all the social change, amazing music and optimism.

originally posted by: flatbush71
What I really want to know, is how many of you lived back in that time or are just repeating what you have heard and read.

I was born in 1946.

I had to wear dresses to school, even when it was freezing.

I could be a cheerleader for the boys sports teams. But, I couldn't play.

My disabled, single mom made far less then her male co-worker for the same work.

Teachers showed favoritism, because they could.

My Jewish classmates were forced to participate in both Easter & Christmas pageants.

You could choose who moved into your neighborhood.

A lot of stuff was kept behind closed doors.

Women had little recourse for an abusive husband.

Good is very selective.

originally posted by: Martin75
a reply to: fusiondoe

I'm so sorry so many have turned this into a thread about discrimination & women's lib.

Because it was.

To exclude that would be a G rated fantasy.

Yes, my middle class white Christian neighborhood was very "sterile". The Mexican's lived "over there", the blacks lived in their area, the Chinese had their neighborhood.

Because back then discrimination was legal.

a reply to: Martin75

It very much depended upon where you were, and who you were...

To say otherwise is to ignore the nasty realities beneath the golden memories.

a reply to: Martin75

I'm so sorry so many have turned this into a thread about discrimination & women's lib.

LOL America was racially segregated by law. There is no honest conversation about America at that time without discussing race. We literally wouldn't have been able to sit at the same table to have this conversation back then because I legally couldn't sit with most of the people in here.

But I think that answers your question. We used to be able to talk about things without people jumping in screaming me me me.

Who is "we"? Because it surely wasn't all of us in here. Also, I'd say that literal sundown towns and "whites only" policies were the ultimate "me me me", wouldn't you?

It was a community. People mostly lived as if they weren't the only person alive. Now we live in a me me me culture and it is sad.

There's more of a community now than ever, unless you mean "there were more secluded communities with no access to the outside world back then". We were forcibly separated back then, but now, people of all religions, ideologies, ethnicities, and nationalities can come together. There's never been a time in American history that has been this inclusive.

Plus our modern interstate system, airports, and internet make it easier than ever for people from all over the country to meet, discuss, laugh together, bicker, flirt, teach and learn from each other. I can literally talk to friends in different countries, take online classes from a school in another State, and keep tabs with each branch of my family tree in real time through a web browser. In separate tabs (or apps), I can also keep up with virtually all local hot spots, while arranging parties or get-togethers with people who are currently scattered throughout the neighboring cities. The bonds between global communities have never been this close.

Although it's funny that you mentioned "people lived as if they weren't the only person alive". That sounds like socialism, doesn't it? So we're nostalgic for socialism now? Sounds good to me.

a reply to: enlightenedservant

More like us, us, us, except for you, you, you. And you over there.

people lived as if they weren't the only person alive

Decades ago it was more in the nature of civic responsibility. One picked up litter, disciplined children not necessarily your own, voted, called the police, helped your neighbors, gave up your seat for ladies, the elderly, and the sick.

It was a different time and sorely missed.

a reply to: Restricted

I don't remember all the complaining back then.

I know life was and has been hard, but I don't remember so many people bitching about it.

Then again, I was a child. And we were taught not to speak unless spoken to.

originally posted by: seagull
a reply to: enlightenedservant

More like us, us, us, except for you, you, you. And you over there.

Yep. One of the things I love about this country and time period is how much freer we really are. If it wasn't for the thought of losing my loved ones, I'd love to travel into the future to see just how much further we could advance.

For example, one of my hobbies is trying "exotic" fruits and vegetables (and tubers and desserts). In large cities, I can find nearly any natural product or crop that I want, be it at farmers' markets, international food stores, or other specialty shops. And if I can't find them in person, I can just order them online. And right now, I'm looking into several strains of citrus fruit that grow in the cold, with some being Chinese variants. There was simply no equivalent to this kind of access back then.

I also love listening to different forms of music from all over the world; hearing the legends and stories of various forgotten cultures; and even keeping tabs on local politics from all over the world. Just a generation ago, we were limited to the resources in our local libraries and universities to gain even a fraction of this knowledge (unless you could afford to travel all over the world, of course).

As citizens, we take so much for granted today that simply was never available to us before.

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: Restricted

I don't remember all the complaining back then.

I know life was and has been hard, but I don't remember so many people bitching about it.

Then again, I was a child. And we were taught not to speak unless spoken to.

We were private. Sharing personal information and/or personal problems was unheard of.

Children were disciplined and seen and not heard. There was a damn good reason for it. And they were sure as hell NOT indulged to be childish past five. We expected them to grow the f*** up and do chores, which taught responsibility.

These hellions we are subjected to now would have been beaten black and blue, which does a world of good for a crappy attitude. You want proof? Look at the incarceration rates then vs. now.

I rest my case.

What I find amusing... is I still see neighborhoods that have large groups of 1 ethic group in them... so what has exactly changed...

Some seem to think laws got changed and people living next to people they relate to stopped happening...

originally posted by: Irishhaf
What I find amusing... is I still see neighborhoods that have large groups of 1 ethic group in them... so what has exactly changed...

Some seem to think laws got changed and people living next to people they relate to stopped happening...

Yes. But, you miss the point.

You can't refuse to sell to someone different.

Someone who might disrupt that perfect neighborhood dynamic.

"They" now have the legal right to choose a neighborhood they want to live in and raise their family. Even if you don't like it.