IN MY DAY
As I get older, I often wonder, “What the hell is it with this new generation?” They don’t listen to our wisdom, they have new ideas about everything, and they want to change how we do everything. Almost nothing is sacred.
In my day, we never worried about how our babies slept. On their back, on their side, on their stomach…either way was just fine. Today’s parents…crazy.
In my day, we didn’t worry about our kids every minute. They played outside, they rode bicycles and skateboards without silly helmets and when it got dark they would come home.
In my day we didn’t have cell phones. If we did have them, we certainly would not give them to our children. We didn’t spoil our children like they do today.
In my day music was music, and lyrics did not have filthy words. Our children did not wear revealing clothes and they did not have to hear all about sex in school “sex education” classes. Sex was dirty and not discussed in public.
In my day, gay people were “confirmed bachelors” or “spinsters” and there was no gay marriage nonsense.
In my day people did not divorce; married couples stayed together through thick and thin.
Yes, as you age you realize just how crazy the world has become. Children are spoiled, and coddled from the cradle till they leave home which is now around 26 not 18. People want it all, and are unable to accept societies rules.
Of course:
In my day some babies died unexpectedly from this thing called SIDS.
In my day, some kids crashed their bikes and were severely brain damaged.
In my day some kids never came home after dark.
In my day, we worried ourselves sick when sometimes we did not know where our children were…would have been nice if we could have just called.
In my day, girls got pregnant because they didn’t know they could. Some of these pregnant girls died undergoing abortions by quack doctors in unsanitary rooms. Some of these girls just killed themselves because their condition was so unaccepted in my society.
In my day, people had to hide their sexuality and were shamed into lying about who they really were. Some could not live like this and they took their own lives.
In my day many married couples lived together hating each other in a sexless, loveless, miserable but acceptable partnership. Sometimes one partner was constantly verbally or physically abused on a daily basis, but they would not leave, they would not divorce.
In my day we knew how to endure abuse. We behaved the way we were taught we should behave, we did what we were expected to do and we believed what our leaders and experts told us to believe. We were suspicious of new things when the old ways seemed to work just fine.
In my day we were ignorant.
You need a "Like" button, as Facebook has.
ReplyDeleteI really like this one!
ReplyDeleteSome things have gotten better, and some worse. It's always that way.
ReplyDeleteMy day was so long ago, I don't even remember what happened (or it could be due to those times I fell off my bike with no helmet)!!
ReplyDeleteI prefer to think that some of our old ways did indeed need changing, but some were superior and should have been left alone. But who listens to me?
ReplyDeleteThere was a lot of ignorance back then, but I still believe it was a safer world for kids to be able to play outside and wander around town, usually because there was a whole bunch of them together and they weren't glued to a tiny screen. There's good and bad in both eras. I think the worst of today is that many kids have too much without earning it, and they're all too busy with their phones or playing games on those ipad things. Overall I think things are better these days because people are more informed and no one has to stay in an abusive relationship if they don't want to.
ReplyDeleteWasn't there a cigarette ad with a doctor advising pregnant women to smoke, because it would make the baby's birth weight lower?
ReplyDeleteImagine kids growing up now will write their own "My Dad" in 40 to 50 years and how different life will be for them those 40 to 50 years later. (One can hope for the better). I don't know how my mom did it, maybe because she wasn't a helicopter parent, but we didn't have a phone growing up so there was no way to get a hold of her if you were running late, got into trouble, etc. If I couldn't reach son on the third ring of his cell phone, I was in a panic.
ReplyDeletebetty
The proof is always in the pudding.
ReplyDeleteOver Memorial Day I was reminded of the "The Greatest Generation." When P. Harbor happened, America had no military or weapons to speak of. Men enlisted and women worked in the defense plants to get that "production E. "America came together as one great country... totally, totally. totally.
Could that happen today with the country so divided? I doubt it. It would be more of a civil war, today. This may be a little off your subject but I liked the feeling of having one country much more than what we have today.
Wise words my friend, I like this one Joe.
ReplyDeleteI was shooting holes in the first part and my head was nodding in agreement for the second part as you covered the holes I saw. Well done.
ReplyDeleteMaybe so but there are other things we did that were right...for example, every child should play outside in the fresh air for a goodly portion of the day. I still think that was a good idea. Children should respect their elders and show proper respect for the property of others. Yup....still a good idea. Kids did not spend hours in front of a screen and knew how to amuse themselves....definitely still a good thing. So yes, in some respects there was ignorance but in others good old commen sense and decency prevailed and it would be nice to see them again.
ReplyDeleteI did like the old days, where we sat around the TV and actually watched and talked about the same thing, rather than everyone on their devices doing their own thing.
ReplyDeleteRight in both paragraphs. I remember playing outside until dark. I also remember jumping on a pogo stick without a helmet, hitting my head on a cement patio and almost dying.
ReplyDeleteAt one time there was no need to worry when our kids played outside. It's never heard of now. They can't even go to school without being driven there by worried mothers.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I really liked this one a lot. It's so true and it makes me wonder what my kids and grandkids will be saying about their lives. My kids and I have similar conversations. None of my kids have known a world without AIDS. Growing up my mom ate Ayds to lose weight. It's definitely a different world.
ReplyDeleteHave to agree with you! I wonder how many of those perfect, 1950's housewives who cleaned in high heels while wearing pearls secretly drank...because depression was something you didn't talk about.
ReplyDeleteWow. This one resonated Joe.
ReplyDelete