Remember When?
Remember When?
Hollywood used to make movies that reinforced America and its values instead of distorting them and tearing them down.
You had to go to the library and read actual, physical, hardcopy books, journals, and magazines in order to do research.
Your TV choices were limited to three networks and maybe a handful of smaller independent channels. In order to watch TV you had to watch what the Big Three wanted you to watch when they wanted you to watch it, at least until VCR’s came along.
In order to listen to music you had to use vinyl record albums, prone to noise, static, and scratches, on a turntable, most likely made by BSR. Or the radio, which like TV, only played what they wanted you to hear when they wanted you to hear it.
You had to read a newspaper or watch TV in order to get the news, which only presented what they wanted you to see and read.
Leaded gasoline. And it was cheap.
The freedom to not have to wear a seatbelt if you didn’t want to, before the Nanny State came along, “for your own good and your own safety.”
There were actually some conservative Democrats before they party was co-opted, subverted, taken over, and completely dominated and conquered by Socialists, Leftists, and yes, it is true, Communists.
You could pray in school, city council meetings, sports events, basically anywhere in public you wanted, and nobody cared or said anything.
Car bodies were actually made of steel instead of plastic, providing better safety and protection in case of an accident. A ’57 Chevy would plow through a ’15 Toyota like a knife through butter
GM was actually owned by stockholders instead of the federal government and its UAW union cronies, and was by far the largest automaker on the planet and one of the biggest and most powerful corporations in the world.
When you thought of computers, you thought of IBM and that was about it.
KFC was still called Kentucky Fried Chicken and FedEx was still called Federal Express
You could espouse your views and tell the truth as you saw it without fear of the Left calling you a racist, a homophobe, backward, disruptive, intolerant, and so on.
The church was a respected institution in American culture instead of the butt of jokes by the Liberal media and entertainment industry, a target of choice for Liberal politicians, and oppressed by Liberals and Democrats in the federal government.
Politicians on both sides of the aisle actually cared about the welfare and safety of the United States as a whole, instead of the agenda of their party or their reelection chances.
It was widely considered unacceptable and illegal to kill innocent, unborn children still in the womb.
Public schools actually imparted information and knowledge to generations of American children instead of filling their heads and brainwashing their minds with Leftist and Liberal propaganda.
Your land was your land and you could do what you wanted on it and with it, without interference from radical environmental groups and irrational government regulations.
You had to have a really good regular season in order to be invited to a college football bowl game, instead of just winning half your games.
You had to at least have a winning record to make the playoffs and then only the top one or two teams qualified, making it a reward for a successful season, not a reward for mediocrity.
Pro football, baseball, basketball, etc. were sports and games instead of Big Business.
The Super Bowl was about an NFL championship game instead of an elaborate Vegas-style circus, production, and cabaret with a football game on the side.
News outlets, both print and broadcast, provided impartial information useful to the public instead of blatantly pushing Liberal and Leftist agendas. Journalists actually reported news instead of publishing their opinions.
Whenever the weather changed or there was a natural disaster it was the normal course of Nature, as it had been for thousands of years, instead of Global Warming, Climate Change, Extreme Weather, whatever catastrophic catchphrase the climate alarmists are using to call it this week.
You could get two pieces of Double Trouble bubble gum for a penny.
You could eat all the salt, sugar, and caffeine you wanted and nobody, not even the Nanny State government, cared or said what you were doing was wrong, and you didn’t get fat or overweight because you were active.
There was no such thing as ‘reality TV.’
When the phone rang you had to answer because you didn’t know who was calling since there was no caller ID and no answering machines.
Gasoline was so cheap you could go for long pleasure drives just because you wanted to.
TV shows had morals and values instead of going for the lowest common denominator with flesh, sleaze, and shock value.
As an American, you felt safe to travel anywhere in the world.
Christmas was a treasured religious holiday for Americans, not a commercial feeding frenzy that starts in October.
Ah, yeah. Those were the days. Wish I could go back in time and be there now.
Jeff Vanderslice
Hollywood used to make movies that reinforced America and its values instead of distorting them and tearing them down.
You had to go to the library and read actual, physical, hardcopy books, journals, and magazines in order to do research.
Your TV choices were limited to three networks and maybe a handful of smaller independent channels. In order to watch TV you had to watch what the Big Three wanted you to watch when they wanted you to watch it, at least until VCR’s came along.
In order to listen to music you had to use vinyl record albums, prone to noise, static, and scratches, on a turntable, most likely made by BSR. Or the radio, which like TV, only played what they wanted you to hear when they wanted you to hear it.
You had to read a newspaper or watch TV in order to get the news, which only presented what they wanted you to see and read.
Leaded gasoline. And it was cheap.
The freedom to not have to wear a seatbelt if you didn’t want to, before the Nanny State came along, “for your own good and your own safety.”
There were actually some conservative Democrats before they party was co-opted, subverted, taken over, and completely dominated and conquered by Socialists, Leftists, and yes, it is true, Communists.
You could pray in school, city council meetings, sports events, basically anywhere in public you wanted, and nobody cared or said anything.
Car bodies were actually made of steel instead of plastic, providing better safety and protection in case of an accident. A ’57 Chevy would plow through a ’15 Toyota like a knife through butter
GM was actually owned by stockholders instead of the federal government and its UAW union cronies, and was by far the largest automaker on the planet and one of the biggest and most powerful corporations in the world.
When you thought of computers, you thought of IBM and that was about it.
KFC was still called Kentucky Fried Chicken and FedEx was still called Federal Express
You could espouse your views and tell the truth as you saw it without fear of the Left calling you a racist, a homophobe, backward, disruptive, intolerant, and so on.
The church was a respected institution in American culture instead of the butt of jokes by the Liberal media and entertainment industry, a target of choice for Liberal politicians, and oppressed by Liberals and Democrats in the federal government.
Politicians on both sides of the aisle actually cared about the welfare and safety of the United States as a whole, instead of the agenda of their party or their reelection chances.
It was widely considered unacceptable and illegal to kill innocent, unborn children still in the womb.
Public schools actually imparted information and knowledge to generations of American children instead of filling their heads and brainwashing their minds with Leftist and Liberal propaganda.
Your land was your land and you could do what you wanted on it and with it, without interference from radical environmental groups and irrational government regulations.
You had to have a really good regular season in order to be invited to a college football bowl game, instead of just winning half your games.
You had to at least have a winning record to make the playoffs and then only the top one or two teams qualified, making it a reward for a successful season, not a reward for mediocrity.
Pro football, baseball, basketball, etc. were sports and games instead of Big Business.
The Super Bowl was about an NFL championship game instead of an elaborate Vegas-style circus, production, and cabaret with a football game on the side.
News outlets, both print and broadcast, provided impartial information useful to the public instead of blatantly pushing Liberal and Leftist agendas. Journalists actually reported news instead of publishing their opinions.
Whenever the weather changed or there was a natural disaster it was the normal course of Nature, as it had been for thousands of years, instead of Global Warming, Climate Change, Extreme Weather, whatever catastrophic catchphrase the climate alarmists are using to call it this week.
You could get two pieces of Double Trouble bubble gum for a penny.
You could eat all the salt, sugar, and caffeine you wanted and nobody, not even the Nanny State government, cared or said what you were doing was wrong, and you didn’t get fat or overweight because you were active.
There was no such thing as ‘reality TV.’
When the phone rang you had to answer because you didn’t know who was calling since there was no caller ID and no answering machines.
Gasoline was so cheap you could go for long pleasure drives just because you wanted to.
TV shows had morals and values instead of going for the lowest common denominator with flesh, sleaze, and shock value.
As an American, you felt safe to travel anywhere in the world.
Christmas was a treasured religious holiday for Americans, not a commercial feeding frenzy that starts in October.
Ah, yeah. Those were the days. Wish I could go back in time and be there now.
Jeff Vanderslice
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