Like most chidren, I was oblivious to what was going on around me--out in the world. Even into the 60s, I was slow to grow up and remained oblivious to all the conflicts in world around me. Isn't that it! That for most of us--like children--we were oblivious to--or deliberately turned a blind eye to--all the injustices in the world of the 50s, which the 60s tried to right.
For example, most women stayed home and kept house, and most men went off to work each day. But what if you were a woman who didn't want to stay home and run a house and have chidlren? What if you wanted to work outside the home and use your talents in other places and make an income. Well, mostly those doors were closed to you because you were a female. What if you came to believe that women and men deserved equal rights? Well, equality was a long way off.
Because I was single, I remember my father having to sign for the first car I bought. I had already been on my own and working as a teacher for several years. By the way, most all of the principals or administrators were men. The schools reflected a society where males were thought to be the rightful leaders. It was a time when it was not so unusual for male teachers to date and then marry their female students, soon after her graduation from high school. But woe be unto a female teacher who dated a male student! Our society was build on notions of male superiority and female inferiority.
So number one on my list of why today is better than yesteryear is that women have so many more opportunities--they can be leaders today--they can be principals and administrators and presidents of companies and even the President of a country! Wow, we have come a long way! Yes, there is so much less discrimination against women today than yesterday. It still isn't perfect. There are still some men around--and unfortunately some women--who think that men are superior to women, but they are fewer and farther apart.
Speaking of discrimination, along with less sexism, there is less racism in our country. Oh, it's still there, and at times directed toward different races than perhaps in the 50s, but again, we've come a long way! In the 50s and 60s as I was growing up, albeit illegally, the school were still segregated. In 1954, in a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court declared that separate schools are "inherently unequal," but it tooks years and years and lots of courageous people before schools, especially in the South, were integrated. Though both black and white citizens had to pay taxes, the government provided public schools for whites only in the 50s and 60s.
Whites only. In my childhood, that was it. In schools, in restaurants, bathrooms, public swimming pools, at water fountains, etc, Everywhere it was "whites only." Again our whole society was build on notions of white supremacy and black inferiority. But again, I was oblivious to racial discrimination. For me, a middle class white child, that was just life as normal. In the 1950s' society, it was believed that whites were superior to blacks.
So that's number two on my list of why today is better than the 50s and 60s. And speaking of less discrimination, today that includes less prejudice against the handicapped, the Asian, the LGBTQ community, Mexicans, different religions, etc. Our consciousness has been raised. Our capacity to Love is greatly and deeply increasing.
Another plus is that we have much more cultural diversity in our country. If we choose, we can get to know people from all sorts of cultures, places, religions, etc. We don't have to stay in our own little cultural clique; we can choose to expand our minds, our hearts, and our souls by knowing, understanding, and loving others from other backgrounds.We don't even have to travel far to find this diversity--we may be able to find people of different backgrounds in our schools and work places. If we choose to be open-minded, we can reach out to them and get to know them and their cultures and their beliefs. How cool is that! So cultural diversity is my number three reason why it's a better time period in which to be alive.
Medical advances are number four on my list. And they are too numerous to name. Suffice it to say that we are beginning to win the war on cancer. From acquaintances to friends to family, we have people living today that would have died in the 50s and 60s. There are so many advances in the medical field in diagnosing, treating, and curing diseases and so many perscriptions that help us to live healthier lives. There is a definite increase in life expectancy in the US from 68 in 1950 to 79 today. Had they lived today my own parents would not have suffered so much nor died so early in their lives.
And number five on my list will go to technology. I am aware of the negatives of technology (the taking away of jobs and the taking away of human contact), but wow, I surely do appreciate many aspects of technology (the creating of jobs and the creating of human contact!) One of the reasons I was going to put down about today being better than yesteryear is improved living standards. Haven't living conditions in our world improved since the 50s? Oh, let me research that on the internet! 12,000,000 results came up in .78 seconds! The answer is Yes! How's that for quick researching! Two of my favorite articles that came up are 10 specific reasons "Why Today Is Better Than the Past" and "50 Reasons We Are Living Through the Greatest period in World History." Check them out if you like--at http://www.nextavenue.org/why-today-better past and / www.fool.com/.../50-reasons-were-living-through-the-greatest-perio.
So yes, the 50s were certainly a simpler time, just like my childhood. And like in my childhood, we were more innocent but also more ignorant. I, for one, am pleased that, like me, the world is growing up and growing wiser with each passing decade.
