There has been a lot of talk about going back to the “good old days” of America. Most of the time these folks are referring to the 1950s. TV and movies have helped romanticize this era as the peak of civilization.
But was it really that great? Or are we just looking through rose colored glasses?
Sure, in some ways the 50s was pretty great. Housing was affordable for most people. The fashion was amazing. People knew their neighbors. The economy was booming. The music scene was epic. One income could support an entire family.
Of course, many of these things were only true if you looked a certain way. If you didn’t look the part of a white male Protestant there were few career options available to you. In many states interracial marriage was illegal and Jim Crow laws were in full effect. Women were expected to leave the workforce as soon as they got married and the ones who didn’t could be fired for getting pregnant. Women could not get back accounts in their own names without explicit permission of their husbands or fathers. Sexual harassment was acceptable anywhere, anytime. Men were free to “sow their wild oats” but women were expected to be virgins on their wedding night. Domestic violence was whispered about but generally swept under the rug and in some cases almost encouraged. Being openly gay could be a death sentence.
And then there are the things that were bad for everyone in the 50s. McCarthyism. The constant threats from the Cold War. Mental health was not taken at all seriously and in the rare exception when it was treatments options were very limited. People who lived below the poverty line were ignored. Complete conformance was expected. You were expected to look, worship, and live just like everyone else and if you didn’t you had to try like hell to hide it. It was social death to admit you weren’t happy in your 3 bedroom ranch house with the white picket fence and 2.5 kids.
So no, I’m not interested in going back to a time where Effexor doesn’t exist, where I am nothing more than the wife or daughter of a man, when diversity was frowned upon and / or activity opposed. That doesn’t sound like the good old days to me.