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MineralMan

(147,461 posts)
Sun Sep 24, 2023, 09:06 AM Sep 2023

The "Good Old Days?" Well, not so much, really. [View all]

Sometimes, when an old-timer like me posts something about something from the 1950s and 60s, as a contrast to something from right now, the old-timer gets accused of gloating about better times from the past. That's not it, though. Times weren't better. They were just different. in many ways, they were worse. Much worse. Let's take a look:

Social Justice
Open racism and legal discrimination against anyone who wasn't white.
Women treated as chattel. I remember women not being able to open a checking account or get any sort of loan. "Where is your husband."
Readily available contraception and abortion were illegal. Illegal!

Health Care
No available treatment other than surgery for cancer.
Widespread overuse of the few antibiotics that were available.
Mental health care consisted of terrible state hospitals in most places. You would not want to be in any of them.
Most people did not have health insurance. If you couldn't pay, you didn't get.

Economic Issues
Yeah, houses were cheap compared to today, but the minimum wage was $1.25 when I was sixteen in 1962. That same year, my parents bought a three-bedroom house for $14,500. It was a struggle, since my father, an auto mechanic, earned only just over $3/hr. He worked a lot of overtime.

College students didn't need student loans. That's true, but there weren't any student loans available in 1963 when I attended a state college that had $0.00 tuition. I had to drop out in early 1965, due to lack of funds, though. I enlisted in the USAF to avoid getting drafted in 1965. After four years, I went back to college on the GI Bill. There were still no student loans available, but I had the GI Bill. I like to think I earned it.

In 1974, my new wife and I bought a house. It cost only $20,000, but needed lots of work. We couldn't get a mortgage, but her father loaned us the money on a 10-year basis, and we paid it off in 5 years. That was helpful. We paid it off by scrimping on everything and driving $100 cars. Many of them. I fixed them up, drove them, and then sold them to someone else just getting by.

Politics
Goldwater and JFK. The right wing was up to the same garbage it's up to now. JFK was shot dead in 1963. I campaigned for him in 1960, while still in high school. Then, there was Nixon and Reagan. Yeah...things were tons better then...right...

In 1965, I drove across the country from California. Got to listen to Martin Luther King give his "How Long?" speech in Alabama. There were still "Whites Only" signs in many places. A terrible time for people of color. Things have improved, but not enough. Not nearly enough.

Conclusions
See, I don't think we had it so good when I was younger. In fact, I know we didn't. I hid under desks in school for A-Bomb drills. I remember that shit. Things are better now in many, many ways. Why? Well, in part because people like me worked hard to make them better. Now I'm old. I don't long for the "Good Old Days." They weren't. They still aren't, but they're better in some ways. Now, I just have a few more years, at best. Work for what you want. If you work hard, you might just get it.

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Yeah, I scoff when I hear people talking about "the good ole days." Ferrets are Cool Sep 2023 #1
Either they weren't alive then, MineralMan Sep 2023 #9
Wifey uses the phrase but she is very selective with her memories. Ferrets are Cool Sep 2023 #43
Same here Rebl2 Sep 2023 #59
The point about those good ole days is that they were KIDS Warpy Sep 2023 #93
I wish. Ferrets are Cool Sep 2023 #100
I said relatively uncomplicated, not happy. Warpy Sep 2023 #108
Oh my, I'm so sorry that happened to you. AllyCat Sep 2023 #156
Thank you AC Ferrets are Cool Sep 2023 #169
I grew up during the '50s and '60s in Spokane. leftyladyfrommo Sep 2023 #119
Many children are getting very good educations, many, unfortunately are not... Caliman73 Sep 2023 #165
Yes, Elessar Zappa Sep 2023 #2
You said it!!! qwlauren35 Sep 2023 #166
And about domestic violence or child abuse, the 'it's not our business' duhneece Sep 2023 #3
Yes, those things, too. MineralMan Sep 2023 #6
agree debm55 Sep 2023 #40
Good post. And, as a woman, Diamond_Dog Sep 2023 #4
Exactly. I remember women's struggle, too. MineralMan Sep 2023 #7
I fear we don't have any rights, again. n/t 1WorldHope Sep 2023 #60
Exactly. Wednesdays Sep 2023 #153
And you wouldn't have True Dough Sep 2023 #5
Good point. Yes. MineralMan Sep 2023 #8
Now there's a trip down memory lane! Permanut Sep 2023 #129
Yup. FORTRAN on an IBM 1620. MineralMan Sep 2023 #130
It was 1969 for me for programming. willamette Sep 2023 #147
I had a couple of programming classes in 1963-4. MineralMan Sep 2023 #160
I always had a client or boss, willamette Sep 2023 #167
Yeah, self-taught, which is why I stuck to variations of BASIC. MineralMan Sep 2023 #171
Addiction TSExile Sep 2023 #10
Just don't try to use marijuana, though. MineralMan Sep 2023 #11
In Texas, possession of anything over an ounce Wednesdays Sep 2023 #154
And if your car broke down dalton99a Sep 2023 #12
I honestly don't know how I drove ANYWHERE before google maps. Ferrets are Cool Sep 2023 #45
I always wrote down directions before I left my home. LeftInTX Sep 2023 #125
"I have a pretty good sense of direction " Ferrets are Cool Sep 2023 #151
Mapsco! LudwigPastorius Sep 2023 #146
The Thomas Guide to Los Angeles County mnhtnbb Sep 2023 #148
I had that, too, and I didn't even live in LA. MineralMan Sep 2023 #164
Are those the spiral bound? LeftInTX Sep 2023 #172
Living was more affordable back in the 1960s. More people could afford homes. Ziggysmom Sep 2023 #13
That's one thing that was better. Elessar Zappa Sep 2023 #15
IMO, most of that wasn't because things were better but because people lived Ferrets are Cool Sep 2023 #46
That wasn't a result of "credit cards" and isn't unique to our time... Caliman73 Sep 2023 #168
The 2008 crash wiped out a lot of middle class home ownership Farmer-Rick Sep 2023 #67
Republicans started intentionally destroying the middle class with Reagan. Sky Jewels Sep 2023 #87
+1 intheflow Sep 2023 #114
The good old days weren't every time I hear about how good the schools were in the fifties, I ... marble falls Sep 2023 #14
True. MineralMan Sep 2023 #16
The downside of nostalgia, which paints the past as rosier than it was. NT. andym Sep 2023 #131
Life has been pretty tough at times. I don't know about wanting to back to the fifties. marble falls Sep 2023 #133
Agree 100%, maybe we mostly long to be young again? chicoescuela Sep 2023 #17
Could be. MineralMan Sep 2023 #18
Yes, I'm happy and grateful for my life today but given a choice I would choose chicoescuela Sep 2023 #28
Still, we are not given that choice. MineralMan Sep 2023 #32
Exactly, hence the Twilight Zone reference chicoescuela Sep 2023 #121
I worked with a guy who went from Newport News to Houston in the early 60's underpants Sep 2023 #19
The people who participated in voting issues MineralMan Sep 2023 #21
During the 1970's nostalgia fad, I wrote an essay about the "good old days." Archae Sep 2023 #20
Actually looking at the realities of things MineralMan Sep 2023 #23
Government regulations improved things! yardwork Sep 2023 #66
I remember reading a book in the 1970's Wednesdays Sep 2023 #157
The best thing about the good old days Mr. Ected Sep 2023 #22
Oh, I don't know. I can still do all the things I used to do. MineralMan Sep 2023 #24
You're a hoot, MineralMan! Mr. Ected Sep 2023 #26
You're very kind. MineralMan Sep 2023 #33
No offense to our more mature readers, but NCDem47 Sep 2023 #25
Neither would we, frankly. MineralMan Sep 2023 #34
I was born in 1952. Grew up on a farm. We were not poor. Many of my friends were. twodogsbarking Sep 2023 #96
Indeed there are too many poor. MineralMan Sep 2023 #98
Spot on wryter2000 Sep 2023 #27
We had those because people who were young in those years MineralMan Sep 2023 #36
I'm one of those old geezers wryter2000 Sep 2023 #103
Yes. They did. I remember talking to MineralMan Sep 2023 #107
Wonderful wryter2000 Sep 2023 #111
That's very difficult for most people to do. MineralMan Sep 2023 #113
I remember the old days cksmithy Sep 2023 #29
Yes. Exactly. MineralMan Sep 2023 #37
We remember the old days as good old days because we were kids Ocelot II Sep 2023 #30
All of what you said is what I remember except we weren't financially secure... Hekate Sep 2023 #105
The "good old days" weren't always good and tomorrow isn't as bad as it seems paleotn Sep 2023 #31
I remember the impact seeing those signs for the first time. MineralMan Sep 2023 #41
And homophobia was the norm, accepted, and often lethal. thucythucy Sep 2023 #35
Yes, those things too. MineralMan Sep 2023 #38
Too many people think Leave It To Beaver was a documentary chowmama Sep 2023 #39
All of those sitcoms were fantasies, MineralMan Sep 2023 #42
In my freshman year at college in 1963, I had a Japanese-American MineralMan Sep 2023 #47
Yeah, there were no MRIs just X-Rays, much surgery was "Exploratory" to see what's going on bucolic_frolic Sep 2023 #44
There is always good and bad, regardless of the time period. MineralMan Sep 2023 #48
There are some scholars who posit . . . Collimator Sep 2023 #49
Yes, exactly. MineralMan Sep 2023 #51
Demonizing the poor is not a recent development ExWhoDoesntCare Sep 2023 #104
That's true. Collimator Sep 2023 #139
A fabulous OP malaise Sep 2023 #50
Thank you. MineralMan Sep 2023 #53
I am just glad you are writing them malaise Sep 2023 #55
And you are one of mine! MineralMan Sep 2023 #56
You are one of the people I look for Hekate Sep 2023 #109
I didn't write this post Marthe48 Sep 2023 #52
Thanks! My pleasure. MineralMan Sep 2023 #54
Not that long ago Lanius Sep 2023 #57
Yes. Not that long ago. MineralMan Sep 2023 #58
Coincidentally I was recently thinking about when the "good old days" were in America. CaptainTruth Sep 2023 #61
Back in the Good Old Days, ... stuck in the middle Sep 2023 #126
Just the music. Iggo Sep 2023 #62
Amen moniss Sep 2023 #69
Absolutely! Good point housecat Sep 2023 #76
Smoking on airplanes heckles65 Sep 2023 #63
Even encouraged on planes. MineralMan Sep 2023 #71
And metal silverware! intheflow Sep 2023 #116
Yeah, I remember that, too. MineralMan Sep 2023 #117
Vietnam. twodogsbarking Sep 2023 #64
Korea and moniss Sep 2023 #70
I hear you moniss Sep 2023 #65
I don't remember people being any more courteous or helpful MineralMan Sep 2023 #72
You probably lived in an area different from me. moniss Sep 2023 #80
Ditto Mineral Man! We are from the same generation. In 1965-1969 I was in US southern states. usaf-vet Sep 2023 #68
I was stationed only briefly at Texas AFBs. MineralMan Sep 2023 #74
I thought we had similar backgrounds. usaf-vet Sep 2023 #110
Nope. Lackland and Goodfellow. MineralMan Sep 2023 #115
Wow my daughter and her husband are both at NSA.......now. usaf-vet Sep 2023 #120
I'll bet that place has changed a lot since 1969. MineralMan Sep 2023 #122
I think you are right. I'll bet in your time, a FORMER president didn't take custody of TS docs.... usaf-vet Sep 2023 #123
twenty one pilots: Stressed Out [OFFICIAL VIDEO] stuck in the middle Sep 2023 #73
The problem is that posts that are about one thing affecting young adults today intheflow Sep 2023 #75
Glad you mention the arts scene. Half a century later we're still using mid-cendtury designs for housecat Sep 2023 #79
Same goes for music, writing, and cinema/tv. intheflow Sep 2023 #101
Absolutely! Good list housecat Sep 2023 #135
That thread triggered this one. MineralMan Sep 2023 #82
THIS stuck in the middle Sep 2023 #149
And nobody knew about learning disabilities then. betsuni Sep 2023 #150
Well, they didn't know much about them, anyhow. MineralMan Sep 2023 #158
At UT Knoxville the freshmen aren't required Lars39 Sep 2023 #161
Yes. Off-campus housing is often out of reach, financially. MineralMan Sep 2023 #163
We can do better. One person at a time. Be kind. Don't be an asshole. twodogsbarking Sep 2023 #77
As always. MineralMan Sep 2023 #84
I think that we have such fond memories of the good old days because we were so young world wide wally Sep 2023 #78
Everything was simpler. There were expectations for behavior and a limited number of alternatives housecat Sep 2023 #102
I remember a whole lot of child abd domestic abuse. leftyladyfrommo Sep 2023 #81
Yes. Often, though, they still do. MineralMan Sep 2023 #85
MineralMan tiredtoo Sep 2023 #83
I don't take posts here as attacks. MineralMan Sep 2023 #86
K&R Blue Owl Sep 2023 #88
TY for the reality check. When I was young, I was optimistic--I miss that about the old days Hekate Sep 2023 #89
We all were, pretty much. MineralMan Sep 2023 #91
3 dollars/hr in 1962 would be 30/hr today. enki23 Sep 2023 #90
Reactionaries who want America to revert to the "good old days" Martin Eden Sep 2023 #92
Yes, exactly. MineralMan Sep 2023 #95
The best things about the Good Old Days: Fiendish Thingy Sep 2023 #94
Yes, some things back then were worse ExWhoDoesntCare Sep 2023 #97
All of what you say is true, of course. MineralMan Sep 2023 #106
It's not necessarily gloating... Lars39 Sep 2023 #99
The student loan thing is complicated. MineralMan Sep 2023 #112
Housing/mortgage costs, too. intheflow Sep 2023 #152
K&R betsuni Sep 2023 #118
And about that GI Bill TexasBushwhacker Sep 2023 #124
I don't know about the details of that. MineralMan Sep 2023 #127
Scroll down to "The GI Bill and discrimination" TexasBushwhacker Sep 2023 #143
Ah. OK, the WWII GI Bill... MineralMan Sep 2023 #159
I started work late 1965 just out of high school. Fla Dem Sep 2023 #128
The downside of nostalgia: Keep in mind that the middle-aged then longed for earlier good old days andym Sep 2023 #132
Google to find Eliz. Warren's talk at Cal-Berkeley! Grins Sep 2023 #134
Well said, OP. NotVeryImportant Sep 2023 #136
This message was self-deleted by its author ymetca Sep 2023 #137
Make America Great Again is a plea to restore racism and bigotry LetMyPeopleVote Sep 2023 #138
Wasn't that a time struggle4progress Sep 2023 #140
TY MM. bluestarone Sep 2023 #141
Thanks. MineralMan Sep 2023 #142
..."they were terrible" book Buttoneer Sep 2023 #144
OK, Boomer. LudwigPastorius Sep 2023 #145
I'm about the same age and.... Joinfortmill Sep 2023 #155
Working class WHITE folks did better before Reagan. Elessar Zappa Sep 2023 #170
Point taken Joinfortmill Sep 2023 #173
That's what I thought, too. Though, I must say, jaxexpat Sep 2023 #162
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