I was reflecting this morning that I am truly getting older, and hopefully somewhat wiser. I know this because;
I can remember a time when politics was not all about money and power, sometimes opposing parties got together just to pass legislation because it was the right thing to do,re: Medicare, Social Security, Civil Rights, Domestic Abuse laws, etc. etc..
I remember a time when politicians of opposing parties referred to each other as my” Honorable Opponent(s)”, not as Republicans or Democrats. I remember a time when Presidents of the United States reached across the aisle for cooperation from their opponents instead of holding press conferences to downgrade and demean them.(Ronald Reagan, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson). There was a time when, even though all politics is partisan, politicians of both parties would come to the realization that in the end that finding a solution to problems was much more important than constantly blaming their opponents.
There was a time when supporting our young military servicemen and women was considered a duty of citizenship, not an option. Military service was considered a revered occupation, and those that served, whether short-term or chose military service as an occupation, were looked up to as heroes and were to be repaid generously for this service.
There was also a time when divorce was not the first, easy, most convenient option whenever troubles and problems of any kind appeared in a marriage. Troubles and problems in marriages were attempted to be fixed, not terminated. Material things were not thrown away because they were broken, the first and foremost option was to have been fixed if possible. I wonder sometimes in today’s world if we will ever get to the point that when a car has a flat tire, instead of fixing it, we just go buy a new car.
In the not-too-distant past, there was also civility people displayed even toward those who disagreed with them. People respected those with differing viewpoints from their own, and in general the rule of the day was” mind your own business”. Young people were taught that there was a connection between money and labor. Money did not magically appear as a “generous allowance”, the principal that this younger generation was taught is that if you want money, labor of some kind was involved in acquiring it.
In this bygone era people took responsibility for their actions, both as individuals and parents. Parents did not blame the schools for the bad behavior of their children, they placed the responsibility for poor behavior both on themselves and their children. These children of this past era were taught principles of, respect for others, responsibility for themselves, and bad, unacceptable behavior comes with the consequences, sometimes dire consequences, if the behavior was considered dire enough. Young people were also taught the values of education, faith, love of country, and self-reliance, and in order to get ahead, and to become successful involved hard work, education, and self-responsibility, not reliance on the government, physical violence, or the use of a weapon.
I suppose the pity of this is that this bygone era that I speak of was really not that long ago. The societal evolution of which I speak has been within the last 30 to 40 years, maybe even within the last 20. But I will give this advice still to all the younger people who happen to see this post, the principles that I have outlined from the past are still the best way to succeed in all phases of your life. Don’t accept the societal trends that are being placed on you today, rather, take a few lessons from your not too distant society’s past, and turn these divisive, detrimental trends around.
God bless your house, and all who dwell within.
One response
As I’ve said to my kids, sometimes the more popular decisions and choices aren’t necessarily the right ones…and you are right as a lot of the I-remember-when attributes weren’t that far away from our present time…still, hope springs eternal! Good reminders in your post. Thank you!