How many times have you heard someone say, “I remember when” or start a sentence with remember “back in the day?” You probably, like me, have said it too! Usually we are feeling nostalgic or possibly adverse to a change we face. I recently heard a tour guide say ‘some of you may remember back in the day’ and it got me thinking about this phrase we use all the time. Were there ever really ‘good old days’? If so, when were those days? Are we now in the ‘good old days’ of the future? What constitutes GOOD old days? Is there a period in time when it was really was good?
Be sure to share your thoughts at the end in the comments section. When were the good old days for you or do you believe they exist? Or are yet to come?
First, were there really ‘good old days’? If so, when? It seems like the older generation (now me?) always looks back on times they felt were better than the current ones. My grandparents probably said this to their children, and my parents definitely said this to me. Now I admit having said it to my grandson. Those of us over 50 certainly have experienced many changes in our lives and the world pace seems to be set on accelerated speed. We have so many global problems now that it is hard not to reflect or wish for better times.
But looking back on history through the first nineteen centuries, life was truly hard just meeting basic needs. People didn’t have time for much leisure time or vacations, lived short life spans, enjoyed no electricity, running water, inside bathrooms, slow transportation and little access to information, products and food that we take for granted daily. I don’t think those were necessarily good old days!
The Greatest Generation (American citizens who came of age during the Great Depression and the Second World War and went on to build modern America) includes both my grandparents and parents. They lived through two World Wars, the Atom Bomb, the depression, racism and the lack of much technology and mobility. Cars, air travel and televisions were just becoming popular. Those generations certainly have seen great changes in their lifetimes! Perhaps during that era life was more simple and family oriented? Yet those were certainly some tough times in which to live!
Families of the early twentieth century often lived closer together, worked and played together, often living in rural communities or the same neighborhood. In some cases, all generations lived the same house and cooked and shared meals together. Many grew their own food that was non-GMO and got healthy starts to their lives! Most girls married right out of high school or sooner as education options were reserved primarily for boys. A few women attended college but not many. Most did not have regular dental or health checkups and many births took place at home. For this generation, it seems to be mix of good and bad times.
We Baby-Boomers (born 1946-1964) have also seen many changes in our lifetimes. The 1950’s are often considered some of the best years in the U.S. when most families were intact and one income supported them. Labor unions peaked and taxes on the richer in the U.S. were at their highest. Television was fairly new with black and white screens and we enjoyed our record players or stereos with the beginnings of Rock & Roll. Programs like Father Knows Best and Leave it to Beaver depicted a stereotypical happy middle-class American family. But many families did not fit that stereotype, certainly not my own. My parents married out of high school, both parents worked and neither parent attended college.
My education encouraged critical thinking skills and classes were quite difficult (more than many of my college classes later on). Most of us lived close enough to walk to school and return home to a mother with warm cookies (well not always). Schools included the arts, with regular recess and gym classes. My high school graduation theme was ‘technology’s children’ as we were on the edge of the computer age. Boomers also experienced the tumult of the 1960’s with riots, civil rights issues, assassinations and the Viet Nam War. Certainly war has been a stable for my generation sad to say. We saw space travel and more young people attending college. For Boomers I see a mix of good days and dark times too. We are all a product of the time in which we are born.
Starting about 1975, the information age replaced the industrial age. Soon computers, the internet and cell phones became commonplace. Massive information is plentiful and at our fingertips. Generation X (those born 1965-1985), Generation Y (born after 1985 and referred to as Millennials) have grown up with technology that is commonplace, acceptable and ever-changing. Many did not grow up in two-parent homes and attended day care. Most have to be driven or bused to school often coming home alone or going to an after school program. Education has changed by teaching to a ‘standardized test’ often leaving out the arts, recess and gym for the most part and critical thinking skills.
Also, wars continue and crime, terrorism and unemployment cause fear, not to mention that we are experiencing a global climate crisis. There is greater access to health services but with our longer life spans we face a rise in serious autoimmune diseases and cancers caused in part by the pollutants we breathe and the chemicals and foods that we consume. The SAD (Standard American Diet) is not healthy and not what our grandparents ate.
Many of we grandparents worry about the future for our grandchildren. I certainly wouldn’t call this the good old days; however, if the trends continue future generations many call them that! Certainly the good old days exist more for those in the middle or upper classes, but even the middle class is shrinking. Yes we can fly off for a vacation, more people have college educations, and we have access to a plethora of information and activities. The pace is fast and ever-changing. From time to time it is good to slow down, take stock of where we are going, work on improving our systems, our food, and certainly finding a way to resolve conflicts without resorting to war.
For me ‘good old days’ would be peaceful times; yet currently I cannot remember times when we were not at war. Good old days would mean each person is valued as an individual regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation and given opportunities to succeed. Hopefully future good old days will empower us to uncover individual potential with the encouragement to grow to be the best each of us can be. Perhaps if we did this on a global scale and worked for peace future generations will really be able to say there were ‘good old days’?
What is your take on this? Dialogue on here or on my Facebook page. Don’t forget to stop and shop too.