This illustration evokes some memories for me; perhaps also those of you who can remember the late 1950s.
Ike was in the White House.
Gas was 32 cents per gallon.
The country was not at war.
Folks left their home doors unlocked 24/7.
Leaving the keys in the ignition made it more convenient to get in your car and go.
Being armed on the streets was not a necessity.
A burger cost 25 cents - with cheese, 30 cents.
Teachers actually taught, and students actually learned. In high school, rowdiness got you sent to detention for remedial reflection. Smoking was allowed, but only in the baseball dugouts under the bleachers with supervision. Most guys carried a pocket knife, if only to play mumble-de-peg or sharpen pencils.
Music was music, not noise for effect. You could actually understand the lyrics and most music had a catchy melody.
Ed Sullivan was our reality show on TV.
You could go on the outskirts of town and plink with your .22.
Drive-in movies were just the thing for cuddling with your sweetie.
The neighborhood strip mall had pretty much everything you really needed. Ours had a grocery store, a hardware store, a bakery, a clothing store (with clothes made in America), a barber shop, and a drug store. The drug store had a soda fountain - Coke was a nickel. And it was a pleasant drink, not a hallucinatory.
Kids of differing ethnicity pretty well got along.
You could bring a gun to class (for shooting on the school's indoor range).
Your dog knew every other dog in the neighborhood, because he was free to run there when he wanted to.
Neighbors brought over some of their favorite dishes just for the fun of it.
Your clothing budget was basically for Levis and T-shirts.
You could actually work on your car yourself with a few screwdrivers and wrenches. And the gas station owner let you use his lift.
College was not just a dream; you could work while you attended to earn your way.
Your phone number was 5 digits long and the phone book was about an inch thick.
A phone call from a pay phone was... "it's your nickel."
You often walked to school because it was more fun that way and you saw interesting things along the way.
The government was not in debt, and taxes were affordable.
Government did not try to control every aspect of your life. You were pretty much free to do what you wanted, when you wanted, and with whom you wanted as long as you didn't harm anyone else in the process. And the environment was just fine the way it was, thank you.
Girls wore makeup, sure, but it was usually just lipstick. The girls had long hair and the boys had short hair. You could tell them apart easily.
Tatoos were for bikers, sailors and drunk Marines on shore leave, and piercings were limited to needlework.
The cars were Chevrolets, Pontiacs, Buicks, Oldsmobiles, Cadillacs, Studebakers, Fords, Mercuries, Lincolns, Plymouths, Dodges, DeSotos and Chryslers. You could get Jeeps, too, and they were all made in America. Loved the Corvette. You didn't have to go to Europe to get a nice sports car. The Thunderbird was a two-seater and a real chick magnet. If you wanted a motorcycle, it was a Harley. And the best bike was a Schwinn, with three speeds.
Japan? They lost the war, and they made cheap junk. Who would want it?
Your TV set and radio was made right here in the U.S.A.
Factories actually made things here, and the quality was pretty good. Smith and Wesson made pinned and recessed magnums without a politically correct doo-dad called an "internal lock." If you wanted to lock it, you put it away in a locked drawer or a locked room where the kids couldn't get to it.
You could order one of those nice Smiths direct from the factory or a large distributor, and it would come right to your door. Ditto for war surplus guns like Springfields, Garands, Lugers and P.38s.
A grandparent could take a grandchild shooting without a written permission slip from his or her parents.
There was no such thing as "gun free zones," now known by the cognizant as victim disarmament zones.
Crazy people were easily identified and placed where they belonged - in nut houses where they couldn't hurt anyone and could get professional treatment. No one tried to keep them on the streets because they were disadvantaged or had unhappy childhoods. And by and large, there were no mass killings. Murderers got the death penalty after a trial by jury and a swift justice system.
Our borders were pretty secure - those illegals who did manage to sneak into the country were rounded up by Ike and sent back where they came from. It was called "Operation Wetback." Look it up. If you wanted to immigrate, it had to be done legally. And that was that. That was the law.
If you wanted to speak Spanish, you learned it in school and you could use that skill to travel in Mexico and Spain. Legal immigrants learned English so they could use that skill to get along in the U.S. You didn't say "Me and him," you said "He and I." "Like" was a word of friendly affection, not a preface to a sentence.
Judges mostly had common sense (which is why they were elected judges in the first place) and didn't try to re-write the Constitution to suit their own value systems.
A preponderance of politicians actually tried to respond to the wishes of their electorates rather than basically try to get themselves elected in perpetuity.
A promise made was a debt unpaid, and deals were often made with no more than a handshake. A man's word was his bond.
There wasn't a lot of fine print to read, and you didn't need a magnifying glass to read all the **** on a bottle of aspirin.
Gold was $35.10 per ounce, compared to over $1,800 today...
People actually read books and learned from the wisdom of earlier generations.
It was "Mr. Jones" and "Mrs. Jones," not Charlie and Judy to the kids.
Most Democrats were pretty much the same as most Republicans - JFK argued for lower taxes to help the economy and was an NRA member. Anyone remember Scoop Jackson? He and Barry Goldwater got along fine. "Hands across the Aisle" was not just a catch phrase, and most everyone swung on the same of oars to help the country.
The high school day began by playing a record of "To the Colors" as ROTC cadets raised the flag in the morning, and everyone on campus paused, faced the flag, and held their hands over their hearts. Cadets in uniform rendered the hand salute.
Things have surely changed; and they call what has happened "progress."
Sadly, I don't think many people today remember what it was like to live in freedom in the good old USA. I miss all of that. Is it just me?
Sadly,
John
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