Was ANYTHING better 'back then' than now?

[Bellaboo]

Crime is worse now. It's not relegated to any certain area of town. Where I grew up in the burbs, we didn't lock our doors to the house until around 1975. I can remember us kids going next door when the neighors were gone on vacation just to look around inside their house.....this was back in the middle '60's.

[Teo9969]

Yeah, saying that local news was covered better in the 60s/70s/80s etc on OKCTalk.com is the definition of irony...

[Mel]

My memory, my vision, my hearing and reaction time was better back then. When you took a vacation kids would actually look out the window and not have their faces buried in a phone or tablet or what ever.

[Pete]

I deleted several posts that were off-topic and personal.

Back to subject, please.

[zookeeper]

I stand by my list of things I think were truly better back in the day. Different people will always see things differently. How many cups of nostalgia we take with our current plate of reality is really not that big of a deal anyway.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Crime is worse now. It's not relegated to any certain area of town. Where I grew up in the burbs, we didn't lock our doors to the house until around 1975. I can remember us kids going next door when the neighors were gone on vacation just to look around inside their house.....this was back in the middle '60's.

You mean reporting on crime is better, so it seems like there's more of it.

Because actual crime has demonstrably declined for decades. And not just a little.


-----

People thinking things are horribly bad all over the world due to the media blowing things out of proportion for that advertising dollar while competing in a 24x7 news cycle...That hasn't gotten better Pete. The media LOVES to get a microphone in front of the crazies and give them a much larger voice than they should have. Hyperbole is the norm. My wife's grandmother is scared half to death of the Swine Flu/Bird Flu every year...Despite the fact that more people probably die from straining too hard on the toilet in a week than die of the Swine Flu all year. She also likes to throw her "I never wore a seat belt and I'm in my 80's and fine!!" anecdote out there while she texts and drives (we've pretty much broken her of this habit...We think). NO sense of actual risks.

[Pete]

^

The thing that drives me most crazy about this mentality (which is incredibly common) are the people who say, "I'd never let my kid ride their bike around like when I was a kid". Or, "I'd never let my child walk to and from the stop and take the school bus." And then they point to one incident that happened years ago and far away as reasons; or the fact the kiddo complains too much.

So now, you go by any school and there are hundreds of SUV's all lined up and a bunch of kids that stay inside playing video games instead of running around on their bikes.

[Mel]

We all looked through less cynical eyes back then so everything did look better. Now the overload of information and the daily wear and tear of living makes you feel things were better back in the day. I work very hard at taking my Grandkids out on road trips and going to parks, lakes, etc. Someday they will look back and think of this as the good old days.

[Pete]

One of my favorite childhood memories is that we used to have informal block parties on the 4th of July. People would move some grills into their front yards, ice cream would be shared, sparklers would be lit.

When I moved into my home about 10 years ago, someone mentioned that from my street you could see the public fireworks display. So, I organized a few households, I made homemade ice cream and set up some tables, others brought deserts and we just sectioned off a cul-de-sac. We had over 50 the first time and every year after.

One of my neighbors has eight (!) kids and she told me how much they look forward to the little tradition. And I bet they will end up doing something similar when they have homes of their own.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

^

The thing that drives me most crazy about this mentality (which is incredibly common) are the people who say, "I'd never let my kid ride their bike around like when I was a kid". Or, "I'd never let my child walk to and from the stop and take the school bus." And then they point to one incident that happened years ago and far away as reasons; or the fact the kiddo complains too much.

So now, you go by any school and there are hundreds of SUV's all lined up and a bunch of kids that stay inside playing video games instead of running around on their bikes.

Very true. There's even a term for it, which is escaping me at the moment.

HOWEVER, in all fairness, if the xBox had been around when I was 10...No way in hell would I have been riding my bike at the park. Asteroids on the Atari was cool and all, but it was no Halo. Have you PLAYED the games the kids get sucked in to? GOOD GOD THEY'RE FRIGGEN AWESOME.

[Pete]

True about video games... Atari came out when I was in high school and I was completely transfixed.

However, we were absolutely not allowed to stay inside during the day. I clearly remember my mom literally chasing us out with a broom on more than one occasion!

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

I was probably 7 or 8 when I first played an Atari.


My xBox 360 has been collecting dust since my son was born (2.5 years ago), and I'd be lying through my teeth if I didn't admit that I was looking forward to the day where he asks for a Playstation or xBox.

/was chased out of the house with a broom too...Then smacked with it when got home after dark

[BlackmoreRulz]

I like buildings from "back then". I like how they seem to have been designed and constructed with pride.

Craftsmanship in the construction trades was definitely way better "back in the day"

[Pete]

Yep, that's a great point... The detail and quality of materials put into older buildings is often amazing and there are few modern examples that can compare.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Craftsmanship in the construction trades was definitely way better "back in the day"

Not sure I agree with this 100%. On the surface, I agree...I mean, just go look at the houses down off 23rd that were built in 1910 or so. I'd kill for that kind of craftsmanship and woodwork. It's amazing.

But...Those weren't cheap houses for the masses. They're 3,000 sq ft McMansions from another era. Us little people didn't buy them. Look at a cheap house from the early 1900's, if you can find one still standing. They're absolute junk. Walls insulated with newspaper, if they even bothered.

My point is...We only see the top-notch stuff from way back then (building/housing wise) because 1) it was built better /cost a lot more which brings 2) it's worth keeping around.


Go look into a brand new $350,000 custom home these days. There's some pretty great craftsmanship to be had in there, and I'd put money on them being around long after all the cheap-o $100,000 homes have fallen in on themselves.


/can't believe I just called a $100,000 home a "cheap-o"...It's a mad world


~Edit...I'm thinking more along the lines of homes, not public buildings or commercial architecture...I have no experience in that area

[Mel]

One of my favorite childhood memories is that we used to have informal block parties on the 4th of July. People would move some grills into their front yards, ice cream would be shared, sparklers would be lit.

When I moved into my home about 10 years ago, someone mentioned that from my street you could see the public fireworks display. So, I organized a few households, I made homemade ice cream and set up some tables, others brought deserts and we just sectioned off a cul-de-sac. We had over 50 the first time and every year after.

One of my neighbors has eight (!) kids and she told me how much they look forward to the little tradition. And I bet they will end up doing something similar when they have homes of their own.

Oh yeah, the street and block parties. I grew up a Navy brat and Squids partied back then about dang near anything. Awesome beach parties when I lived in Florida and Norfolk.

[ThomPaine]

Sense of wonder/awe. (First time you saw the ocean or a 14,000 foot peak or a giant redwood.)

Patience/anticipation. (Trying to remember that character's name for hours and hours, Happy Days on Tuesdays, waiting for that person's call, Sunday papers.)

Exploration/expedition. (Sputnik, moon landing, Jaques Cousteau, Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom.)

Observation. (Staring out the car window for hours on end during family vacations.)

Imagination. (Cops and robbers, war, cowboys and indians, baseball with newspapers for bases and wads of tape for a ball.)

Danger. (Riding bikes without helmets, being out of contact with your parents for hours and hours, dirt clod fights, bb gun fights, pocket knives at school, tennis ball cannons.)

To name a few more...

[bradh]

Does anyone still tell their kids to stay outside and play until the street lights come on?

[bchris02]

True about video games... Atari came out when I was in high school and I was completely transfixed.

However, we were absolutely not allowed to stay inside during the day. I clearly remember my mom literally chasing us out with a broom on more than one occasion!

I agree about video games as well. Personally I think video games have went way downhill in the most recent era. There is no more creativity and everything is all about the bottom dollar. I liked the original Call of Duty and Battlefield games as well as Counterstrike, the predecessor to the modern online FPS, but personally was burned out on them years ago and the new installations in the series really don't do much for me. This biggest dissapointment is the new SimCity game. As a long time fan of the series I was dissappointed that realism and freedom of design has taken a back seat to the social aspects of the game. It's been a long time since a video game has really captivated me like they used to, Skyrim being an exception. I don't think it's getting older either, I think quality has simply plummeted since the huge for-profit corporations bought up the independent developers.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Does anyone still tell their kids to stay outside and play until the street lights come on?

You know if you kick the pole hard enough...It'll trip the safety and that streetlight will go out for a solid five minutes?

True story.

"But mooooOOOOmmmm..THE LIGHT WAS STILL OFF!!!"

[Plutonic Panda]

I am admittedly one of the most sentimental people on the planet but I also have a scary good memory. So, while I love to remember things, I also tend to remember a lot of specific details rather just some general, warm, fuzzy experience.

Therefore, while I absolutely love nostalgia and thinking back, I have a very hard time coming up with anything that was really better in the past.

I call this the "Myth of Nostalgia", where human tendency is to romanticize the past; to exaggerate the good and gloss over anything less than pleasant.


Sure, the divorce rate prior to the 70's was virtually nonexistent... But was that better? As a kid (I was born in 1960) I remember so many unhappy marriages, cheating husbands, alcoholism and even domestic abuse. Yet, women didn't have the choice of leaving, primarily for financial reasons. Also, the laws in most states made divorce very difficult.

And of course, we all love to think back on old restaurants but there is no more unreliable memory than that of taste. I happen to think that restaurants -- freshness, education, experience, variety, cooking methods, portion size (and value), service -- are generally way, way better than back in the day. There are perhaps a few exceptions, where there was one person at the stove who was incredibly gifted, but even then I would question how good things really were.

I also think that for anyone over 40 now, there was an issue of scarcity; where you didn't eat out that often, have every toy in the world and generally experience immediate gratification virtually whenever you wanted it. So, that pizza/hamburger/steak/candy bar was much more significant and thus the experience heightened.


Don't mean to rain on the nostalgia parade, just wanting to engage in a conversation about things that may have been truly better back when.

How about the women Pete? I think the stereo type housewife of the 40's-60's are freaking hot. Don't know why, that's just me.

[RadicalModerate]

How about the women Pete? I think the stereo type housewife of the 40's-60's are freaking hot. Don't know why, that's just me.

I'm not sure about the housewives of the 40's-60's . . .
Yet I know, for sure, that The Cartoons o' The Past were definitely better.

[ljbab728]

How about the women Pete? I think the stereo type housewife of the 40's-60's are freaking hot. Don't know why, that's just me.

I remember those housewives during the 40's - 60's. Don't believe the hype. LOL

[RadicalModerate]

I remember those housewives during the 40's - 60's. Don't believe the hype. LOL

That youngster was a-talkin' 'bout my mom fer cryin' out loud. n that just ain't right!
'course all o' them Mrs. Paul's Fishsticks n Chef Boy-ar-dee spaghetti dinners n
that "Banquet TV Dinner Chicken" might-a skewed my perspective. =)

Yet, all things considered, the women of her age did a magnificent job of parenting.
At least in my opinion.

(sheee-it . . . i was such a picky little tyke back then that i turned up my nose at fresh-caught, mountain lake, trout on account of it was too much trouble to pick around the bones. =)

[ljbab728]

Donna Reed certainly was a hottie but I never met anyone like that in my childhood. LOL