I wish it was 1950.
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I wish it was 1950.
| Fri, 08-31-2007 - 1:07am |
I was never around then, but i've heard the world was safer and the men were different. I watch those movies set in the 50's and men were actually courting women with the best of intentions. ( im sure there were still the occasional bad seeds) They wanted to get married and start families. They took women on dates, besides bars with their buddies, and kissed then goodnight without trying to get an invitation inside. I wish i was there then. Somehow...things just seemed simpler.

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THANK YOU. Finally someone who's not all doom and gloom. jk :)
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The world had more than its fair share of doom and glume back then. My parents were old enough to very clearly recount the depression. My Grandfather died of black lung from the coal mines . . the way I see it we live in high times. Not perfect, never will be. But we are in a time of great prosperity . . . with prosperity comes spoiled children. (-:
I look around and a see the "down sides" of what we can do to each other today. But I also look at how much we have done . . .for all the doom and glume people would have us believe when you watch the news it seems to me most people on this board are living a pretty good life. We might not be rich, or have a true loves already . .lol but we eat, have roofs over our heads and friends to talk to. Not such a bad thing. Heck, if this were the 50's I couldn't talk to you guys today, could I? (-:
I don't know why but it seems as though your replies are more like rude responses. Being that the internet is a hard way to hear someone's tone of voice, I hope I'm just misunderstanding. Before I start responding I'd just like to say that I think you're over analyzing and picking at everything I say. If you'd like me to write a 10 page paper on the topic with all of my exact opinions and references I'll gladly do so just to not have to go back and explain every sentence I write.
>>Can the same be said about women ? I mean before "modern" feminism came along and turned women into who knows what.
Women have definitely changed over time. I'm a young woman but I consider myself to be one of values and morals. I've certainly made my mistakes but I think I have a pretty good head on my shoulders and know the meaning of respect. I've unfortunately seen other women my age who do not carry themselves or act the same way. I think it all depends on the person. There were women in the 50's who were just as wild as the ones you find today. And WHAT exactly did "modern feminism" turn us into ? I think the women that I know have all turned out wonderful :)
>>What freedom would that be ? Who stopped whom from doing what ?
What freedom did we lack ? I guess the right to vote for the leader of a country that we live in is the first one that comes to mind. And I suppose the people in power were the ones who didn't allow us certain freedoms considering that they are the ones who makes the laws, right ?
>>Respect is earned. Even today those who deserve respect, get it.
You may be a fair person but not everyone is. You're also a man and therefore your opinion of whether women receive equal respect as others doesn't really count because you have never been in a womans shoes. If you truly believe that everyone who deserves respect gets it, you're living in a dreamworld.
>>You made a blanket statement that the 50's lacked passion. What the 50s lacked were lewd Hollywood movies telling us what to think, how to think and how to behave.
A blanket statement does not equal to me believing that "short term romantic flings" are the meaning of passion. You're putting words in my mouth and I don't appreciate that. I'm a fan of classic films and they are just as lewd as many of the films of today, only they are much more sly about it. A movie is simply a means of expressing an idea of an opinion. Movies in the 1950's were also ideas taken from ones mind and put onto a film screen. Whether or not someone chooses to be told what to think, how to think, and how to behave based on a film is their decision. But I pity the soul who cannot come up with opinions of their own. Then again, we are products of our environment aren't we ? We're all who we are partly due to what we see and hear.
>>Such as what ?
There is still an appropriate and inappropriate way to go about things. But in the 1950's this matter was of even greater importance. Your house was expected to look a certain way, a woman was expected to have dinner on the table, a man was expected to go to work everyday, children were supposed to dress a certain way, there were also specific ways to court a woman and if you were too forward you might be looked down upon, it was such an intense era in terms of politics that many lacked the freedom to speak their minds on how they really felt (somewhat like 9/11 has effected us today), and on and on and on...I've been in philosophy and literature classes the entire day writing so I don't have the energy to give better and deeper examples.
>>He was born in '44, but those who *lived* through the 20's , 30's and 40's were some of the greatest generations. They made sacrifices and lived through hardships that you cannot imagine. It is to -them- that we owe the peace, prosperity and the Disney Worlds we enjoy today.
I'm really beginning to feel as though you're picking on everything I say but ok. It is to them that I owe the PEACE I enjoy today ? What peace are we speaking of here because I see none. I still see racism, sexism, poverty, war, death, and disease. I have plenty of respect for the people from those eras. My great grandmother passed away 3 years ago at 89 and my grandfather is 76. They hid American soldiers in our old home in Rome while the Italians were still on Germany's side. My family could have been killed for what they did but they believed that doing the right thing was more important. I know plenty of the hardships that people went through, especially because I'm an obsessive reader. I respect what they had to endure but I cannot thank them for peace because we have none of that.
>>I am not sure women did not have the right to divorce earlier. Did they ? And who stopped women from being anything else other than arm candy ? I can name plenty of very accomplished women from the early to mid 1900s.
Women did not have the right to divorce without the consent of their husbands. And what do you mean WHO stopped them from being anything else other than arm candy ? There were laws that prevented us from doing as we pleased. You're right, there are definitely accomplished women from those eras. But they had to go through far more then a man had to in order to gain praise and respect from those around them. And many did not approve or appreciate the accomplishments of those women until long after they were gone. The fact of the matter is that women had to spend far more time proving that they were capable of doing a job before they were even given the opportunity of a trial run.
>>What point is respect if it's fake (I'm not arguing with you, just bring up a point I thought of while reading your post)?? The outer chivalry only concealed a general disdain for women and a chauvinistic attitude. I'd rather have true respect than someone merely opening doors for me; it's superficial.
Hmmm your thought made me think and I agree. Thanks for opening my eyes a little :)
>>Not really, but maybe partially. A loss of interest in organized religion is a sign of independence, free thinking and intellectualism. Most Americans consider themselves "spiritual" but not religious. So going to a brick and mortar building to pray is no longer the expectation, but it doesn't mean people aren't celebrating their beliefs in other ways.
I completely agree with this comment. I think the point of church was confused over time. Church is supposed to be a place where people gather together (if they feel the urge to) in order to share their faith and express it together. But no one ever said anyone HAD to go to church. You can just as easily sing your praises to whatever god you believe in inside the privacy of your own home...or anywhere for that matter. And it is definitely a sign of free thinking and intellectualism. It showed that some people realised, "Hey I don't really enjoy this and the point of going to church is to celebrate your religion with others, isn't it ?". What works for some doesn't work for others.
You are right. My apologies. I have been told this before(on this site) that I sound rude now and then. But believe me, I am not. Just imagine me speaking very slowly and in a low voice (neither of which I actually do in real life :) ). I keep forgetting I am talking to a mostly female audience here. The fact is I post actively on another website (freerepublic.com) which is mostly male and where we take a lot of liberty with language and expression - especially when it comes to beating on people with opposing ideologies ! :) But it's understood to be done in good humor.
In fact, my "rudeness" has driven away a couple of long time posters from here who now sit at the sidelines and watch. Once again, I am NOT rude. If you knew me I am one of the politest and friendliest guys in real life..and not to mention chivalrous.
>>You are right. My apologies. I have been told this before(on this site) that I sound rude now and then. But believe me, I am not. Just imagine me speaking very slowly and in a low voice (neither of which I actually do in real life :) ). I keep forgetting I am talking to a mostly female audience here. The fact is I post actively on another website (freerepublic.com) which is mostly male and where we take a lot of liberty with language and expression - especially when it comes to beating on people with opposing ideologies ! :) But it's understood to be done in good humor.
>>In fact, my "rudeness" has driven away a couple of long time posters from here who now sit at the sidelines and watch. Once again, I am NOT rude. If you knew me I am one of the politest and friendliest guys in real life..and not to mention chivalrous.
I definitely feel taking liberty with language and expression is more then ok. Just be careful as to how you come off to others. You might know that you're not trying to be rude but the people reading your comments only have the text in front of them to go on. Anyway I appreciate you replying, which already shows you can't be TOO rude heh. Thank you :)
Although I romanticize about past decades from time to time, there are wonderful things about the past that are nostalgic and cannot be replaced, I don't think I would ever really want to live in the past. Modern medicine for starters.
I maybe one of the few, but I don't think our world is any more dangerous than it was back then, I think relatively speaking it is probably safer actually. We do have crime and lots of it and probably more statistically than in the 50s but we also have A LOT more people in the world now than we did back then and I think crime is pretty comparitive considering the size of our population and some crimes back then weren't taken very seriously and therefore not documented accurately (domestic violence and many cases of child abuse for example).
I think dating may have been "easier" but I I think it was a different ballgame back then too. As many have stated, women just didn't have many other opportunities outside of raising a family. They weren't wired or encouraged to go to college or have any sort of career so finding a husband was a life goal for many women and they got married and had children very young (by today's standards anyways). On a different note, I also think back on how hard it was for gay people to date back then, you were sort of stuck being heterosexual whether you wanted to or not. I think today has a lot more freedom than it did back then but with that freedom comes it owns challenges.
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