The America I miss.

[verte76]

I loved playing on swings when I was a kid. There were swings that were made out of rope and woods in my grandparents' back yard. I spent alot of my childhood with my grandparents. I also bird-watched with my paternal grandmother, who knew everything there was to know about birds and kept two feeders in their back yard. Computers? They were these hugeass machines that my dad worked with at work. Thanks for posting this diamond!

 

[Irvine511]

of course, Republicans run on nostalgia ...

 

[diamond]

so there are 3 guys in the thread that don't care for nostalgia.

the rest have been pretty positive comments.

peace,
db9

 

[BVS]

so there are 3 guys in the thread that don't care for nostalgia.

the rest have been pretty positive comments.

peace,
db9

I think your original post had some truths but overlooks and leaves a lot out. It's somewhat revisionist.

But instead of looking to our childhoods, we should be focusing on the childhoods of today and tomorrow and make this a better place for them.

 

[melon]

so there are 3 guys in the thread that don't care for nostalgia.

the rest have been pretty positive comments.

My general beef probably has more to do with ideology. It was obviously yet another anti-government, anti-regulation rant.

In practice, stripping away the ideology, I think most people agree we need to try and create a better society. However, we'll never agree on *how,* because the right-wing response would be to start legislating morality (hence, "bigger government") and scapegoating unpopular minorities. And I'm not talking strictly homophobia either; a lot of that "nostalgia" argument is used by racist groups who believe their "idyllic good old days" were ruined after integration and the civil rights movement.

And that's probably my argument more than all of them; what you posted is loaded with undesirable connotations, unfortunately. The "good old days" were not so "good" for everyone.

Melon

 

[diamond]

BVSS
and
Melon,

The intent of the thread was to take a healthy look back at the good things in our past (nostalgia) while trying to replicate those good things into our present and future lives.

Surely you have some fond memories of your youth.

db9

 

[melon]

Surely you have some fond memories of your youth.

I wish I could say so. I don't.

Well, my youth isn't all that bad, but you know what? After living in the "idyllic" rural area with the backyard and unsafe playground equipment, the fact is that I was bored out of my mind.

I don't miss my past, and my present isn't perfect, but in the end, it's all we've got.

Melon

 

[DrTeeth]

The intent of the thread was to take a healthy look back at the good things in our past (nostalgia) while trying to replicate those good things into our present and future lives.

Smoking and drinking during your pregnancy, lead-based paints and putting your kid in a car without a seatbelt are actually good things?

 

[ImOuttaControl]

I think a few certain people have really missed the point and blown this into an entirely different beast than what the original thread was about... "revisioninst, glorifying the past...ect" It's not the kids who are the "racists, homophobes, frat boy...ects" That's would be the adults.

We've become slaves to technology, so we've let it take over the lives of todays children, which is just sad. Rather than exploring and playing with real 3D humans and environments, kids sit in front of the computer/video games. Like many people, when I was little we weren't allowed in the house during the day and were left to make our own fun. We rode bikes without helmets, usually going to the lake unsupervised with our friends. We did a lot of things I can see not happening today because of the over-protectiveness of parents.

 

[diamond]

Dr Teeth-
u missed the boat.

db9

 

[diamond]

I think a few certain people have really missed the point and blown this into an entirely different beast than what the original thread was about... "revisioninst, glorifying the past...ect" It's not the kids who are the "racists, homophobes, frat boy...ects" That's would be the adults.

We've become slaves to technology, so we've let it take over the lives of todays children, which is just sad. Rather than exploring and playing with real 3D humans and environments, kids sit in front of the computer/video games. Like many people, when I was little we weren't allowed in the house during the day and were left to make our own fun. We rode bikes without helmets, usually going to the lake unsupervised with our friends. We did a lot of things I can see not happening today because of the over-protectiveness of parents.

and this post is on the money

db9

 

[BAW]

I think a few certain people have really missed the point and blown this into an entirely different beast than what the original thread was about... "revisioninst, glorifying the past...ect" It's not the kids who are the "racists, homophobes, frat boy...ects" That's would be the adults.

We've become slaves to technology, so we've let it take over the lives of todays children, which is just sad. Rather than exploring and playing with real 3D humans and environments, kids sit in front of the computer/video games. Like many people, when I was little we weren't allowed in the house during the day and were left to make our own fun. We rode bikes without helmets, usually going to the lake unsupervised with our friends. We did a lot of things I can see not happening today because of the over-protectiveness of parents.

Thank you

 

[diamond]

kaching

db9

 

[Irvine511]

can't we criticize the present without presenting the past as some sort of ideal fantasy world where kids rode bikes without helmets but magically never had their brain dashed out when they hit a telephone pole?

 

[melon]

We've become slaves to technology, so we've let it take over the lives of todays children, which is just sad. Rather than exploring and playing with real 3D humans and environments, kids sit in front of the computer/video games. Like many people, when I was little we weren't allowed in the house during the day and were left to make our own fun. We rode bikes without helmets, usually going to the lake unsupervised with our friends. We did a lot of things I can see not happening today because of the over-protectiveness of parents.

First off, you say "over-protectiveness of parents." Well, many of you are parents; you have control over this, and if you want your children to ride bikes without helmets, so be it. I'm not aware of any laws that force kids to wear helmets, so why are you all complaining?

"The lake." That seems especially romanticist. I don't know many children, regardless of the time period, who have the luxury of a nice lake. Of course, I happened to grow up near Lake Erie, which, in the 1960s and 1970s, set on fire, due to all the pollution, and, up to the early 1990s, would get occasional medical waste from Detroit washing up on the shores. The only reason it's even clean now is due to the zebra mussels.

As for video games? I really don't know many people who literally shut themselves completely out of life to play them. Most people I know who do play them use it as a substitute for television watching. Video games, for me, were also part of my entire life growing up, from Atari 7800 to modern systems today.

Honestly, it is my opinion that a lot of this "uproar" is misplaced. Parents still have a lot of discretion to do what they want with their children, and for all of you who are complaining about over-restrictive parents, well, if you are parents or will be someday, let them run wild for all I care. There's no law against it.

As for lamenting the loss of "lead paint," well, I say "tough shit." Paint is paint; it's not as if banning lead paint meant no paint ever again.

Melon

 

[diamond]

melon,
feel better?

db9

 

[joyfulgirl]

I'm with melon on this one. Using again the example of my sister's kids, they have it all. They have every gadget, every toy, every video game, a big Victorian house in the burbs. But my sister and her husband also happen to be excellent parents. The kids do their homework first, they are allowed limited time in front of the TV and computer, and they seem to just as often choose riding their bikes as they do watching TV. They are very well-rounded kids. I don't see that technology has ruined them; I see that they are smarter in a lot of ways and that technology makes their lives easier and more fun. I did not have enough outer stimulation when I was a kid. I was pretty isolated on a farm--the so-called ideal and healthy upbringing for kids--and frankly it left me a bit socially retarded. I had to learn how to integrate well with other kids at a much older age than most because I was so isolated that my inner life was a bit too well-developed and I had to overcome a lot of shyness and social phobia by the time I got to high school.

Anyway, I also think I get the point of the thread and I get what you all are saying. It's just that my personal experience, the way I grew up, was very hard. I was bored out of my mind and I think I'd be less neurotic and more well-adjusted if I'd had some of the things kids have today. I'm not bitter about it; it's just the way it was and my parents did the best they could, and I am who I am today, the good and the bad, because of it. I'm just saying that I don't think it was better back then than it is today. Both have their pros and cons and I'm not really into romanticizing the past.

 

[diamond]

and one nonromancing the pastfemale

db9

 

[verte76]

It is certainly possible to over-romanticize the past. I grew up less than a mile from a Ku Klux Klan meeting ground. Today it is a hell of alot less acceptable to be a member of the Klan or other hate group around here than it was then. There were bad parents then and good parents now. I have alot of friends in my parish that are mothers and they are hard-working and very conscientious parents. My neighbors have two high-school age kids who are wonderful. These kids work hard in school, enjoy church youth activities, and the older kid is also a talented singer who's been invited various places all over the country to sing, and he had a music scholarship to the local university. I couldn't resist thinking about my fun with the swingset and my bird-watching with my paternal grandmother, with whom I still have a strong bond. She taught me everything I ever knew about birds, and drawing birds is how I originally got into art. So, my childhood memories have some power, but, I don't think the past is necessarily better than the present. Things don't intrinsically change for the better or the worse, they just change, and we have new challenges to meet all the time.

 

[Irvine511]

the past is neither better nor worse than the present, and vice versa. people are no better then than they are today. for all the problems we've solved, we have other problems of equal profundity that arise each and every day. the danger are those people who peddle to us as political temptation an easier time set in a reimagined, romanticized vision of a past that never existed.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

In general I think kids today are overindulged-materially and emotionally, ie the parents don't exercise much discipline, etc. The rise in childhood obesity and the problems related to that is largely due to too much computer, TV, video games, etc.

I also think in general kids today are sorely lacking in manners. Many also seem to be lacking in decency and compassion.

I think some parents substitute material things for the work they should be doing-it's easier I guess

 

[diamond]

gina
is
right

 

[Irvine511]

having worked with kids, and having had to deal with their parents, i think the 80%/20% rule applies: 80% of the people are great, 20% are not; but that 20% becomes 80% of your broad impression.

 

[verte76]

I think you're right irvine.

 

[Pearl]

originally posted by Melon
First off, you say "over-protectiveness of parents." Well, many of you are parents; you have control over this, and if you want your children to ride bikes without helmets, so be it. I'm not aware of any laws that force kids to wear helmets, so why are you all complaining?

When I was a kid, there was a law passed in New York that said kids had to wear helmets whenever they went bike riding. No one paid attention to it, though.

 

[Do Miss America]

Did someone say 'do miss America'?

 

[speedracer]

I miss being able to walk outside and shoot hoops with whoever else is out there.

 

[Irvine511]

i miss the america of my youth, a world in which two rival superpowers had immense nuclear arsenals aimed at each other and poised to launch at a moment's notice, nuclear annihilation hanging over my innocent 6 year old head like a sword of damocles.

 

[u2granny]

having worked with kids, and having had to deal with their parents, i think the 80%/20% rule applies: 80% of the people are great, 20% are not; but that 20% becomes 80% of your broad impression.

The 20% also becomes the students who we spend the most time dealing with in class.

 

[diamond]

i miss the america of my youth, a world in which two rival superpowers had immense nuclear arsenals aimed at each other and poised to launch at a moment's notice, nuclear annihilation hanging over my innocent 6 year old head like a sword of damocles.

and you can thank mr reagan for getting rid of that threat