by Shelley Fowler
I’ve been feeling rather nostalgic lately. Yearning for the good old days. Not the times of a hundred years hence, but of a mere forty years ago. Back when common sense and personal freedoms were allowed – and even celebrated! Back to the days which my great-niece, Ariana, aged 10, could not imagine ever existed!
Remember when our houses weren’t cluttered with TV’s in every room? And when electronic gadgets, cell phones, computers and the internet didn’t rule our lives and time? Such technology I put in two categories – they are both boons and boondoggles! We now have the capability to instantly reach out and touch the far ends of the earth, but we’re forgetting the glory of reaching out and actually talking to our friends and family who are sitting in the same room with us and living in the same town!
As for the above-mentioned cell phones. Why is it necessary to incessantly use them? I mean, come on folks….chatting while in the grocery store, the aisles of Wal Mart, while you’re talking face to face with someone? What ever happened to call waiting or the answering machine? Or, heaven forbid, you missed a call?
Remember when you had to buy a risqué magazine to get a peek at scantily-clad or outright naked bodies? Not so these days! All one must do is flip on the TV or surf the internet. Do you suppose that the reason we have so much sexual dysfunction going on today, and so many unhappy unions, is because our sensibilities have been overloaded by sleaze and air-brushed perfection? Which leads me to….
Remember when we were blind (no pun intended) to such pharmaceuticals as Viagra and Cealis? Or the myriad of drugs that we hear advertised 24/7? You would think that all we have to do to be happy and healthy is to ingest a little pill of some sort! The messages are sometimes overt and sometimes subliminal, but the sentiment is always the same. Are you depressed? Constipated? Having bladder-control problems? Suffering from ED? Do you need whiter teeth, thicker hair, sleeker abs, a thinner body or prettier skin? Sadly, it’s not just adults who are hearing the litany of ads. The young ears of Ariana’s generation are listening to and absorbing these commercials right along with us! (My opinion is that we should all stand up and say, “Enough, already!” to the pharmaceutical companies who have become so blatant in their desire to make money.)
Remember when we respected authority and when authority deserved to be respected? Back when our parents weren’t our buddies or merely tolerated, but obeyed? Back when public officials weren’t regularly charged with graft, corruption, indecency, stealing money or lying? Back when we believed more in Roy Rogers and less in Darth Vader? (Or whomever today’s kids revere as an anti-hero.) I choose to believe there are still a lot of moms and dads who are heroes in their children’s lives and who challenge their kids to be responsible for their actions as well as respectful. And who show by example that consumption of any ilk does not bring about happiness. And I know there are public officials who continue to work for us and are decent and upstanding. But, are the kids of today able to trust in and hold these same beliefs?
Oh, yes! Nostalgia could make me comment on so many other subjects that were prevalent in my own good ole’ days. Back when common sense and self-motivation belonged to all of us. Back when seatbelts clicked because we made the choice. Back when the lack of a car seat didn’t bring with it a fine. Back when smoking was no ones business but the smoker’s. Back when abortion wasn’t an acceptable means of birth control. Back when we didn’t have to wear a helmet to ride a bike. Back when we had to work to buy our first car or go to college. Back when our greatest electronic possession was a tiny transistor radio that could pick up KOMA’s signal. Back when it was the norm to salute the flag and say a prayer in public. Back when we passed or failed because we either studied or didn’t. Back when we aimed to be individuals of merit and were without the mindset that we should all be equal.
And especially…back when Madge just wanted to sell us Palmolive dish soap because it made our hands smooth.
A whole bunch of evolving has taken place between my youth and Ariana’s. Even as many freedoms have ceased to be during the same time. I know I’ve focused on the negatives of our advancement in this column, but I think we need to recognize what the kids of today are faced with from many angles. And I think we need to question what we see, hear, believe and accept not only from ourselves, but also from outside influences.
Now, lest I leave you with chins dragging the ground and the need to pop a pill for the doldrums, may I end by saying that common sense, wisdom and self-responsibility are still available should we choose to use them….and teach them to those who follow in our steps!
