For generations, Americans have loved to bring up “the good old days.”
Reference to the good old days is always made with regard to comparing the present state of affairs to that of a given (sometimes arbitrary) number of years earlier, and describing how things were somehow better during those former times. And it’s typically not done out of sarcasm or jest, but rather because of sincerely missing circumstances perceived as more desirable.
Based on what the world is experiencing right now and the direction in which everything seems to be headed, I have a feeling that we’re definitely living in times that will be looked back upon fondly in the not-too-distant future. Yep, welcome to the good old days. Enjoy them, because they’re temporary, and I’m pretty sure that compared to what’s coming, we’re presently living the good life.
Obviously, most things are way more expensive now than they were not that long ago, including food, clothing, labor, transportation and a long list of other items and services. But it’s safe to say that prices (of pretty much everything) will be far higher not that long from now and continue to rise on an exponential basis, and we’ll be saying, “remember when a loaf of bread cost only five bucks at the grocery and you could get a cheeseburger at a nice sit-down restaurant for only 14?”
These days, society’s fast-paced shift toward allowing all sorts of racy, raunchy and basically vile behavior and appearance to be considered standard and commonplace will soon have people saying, “remember when that kind of thing wasn’t always in your face, like all over prime-time TV and even in PG movies?”
All over the United States, a battle is being waged between people who wish to continue recognizing the difference between men and women and people who want to diminish – or even abolish – those differences. Unfortunately, that’s not likely to go away or even slow down, and I can envision a time in which someone would be led to say, “remember when men only competed against other men in sports, and when women had their own spaces to do personal things in?”
Public education is speedily headed toward being more of a haven of agenda-driven, politically-charged propaganda than a place where young people learn the fundamentals of reading, writing and arithmetic, and are given a glimpse of history and an opportunity to discover and hone their artistic or athletic talents. As the roots of that predicament go deeper and deeper, someone will surely reminisce and say, “remember when school was about actually learning instead of simply being told what someone wants you to hear?”
And even though this country was founded on Christian values, Christianity is clearly under attack and could well become a focus of wide-ranging legal issues sooner than later. As penalties for not maintaining a secular perspective are established and then increase, it won’t be surprising to hear someone say something like, “remember when the local newspaper always had a scripture on the front page, and when a writer could quote the Bible openly without worrying about a legal backlash?”
And sadly, the list goes on and on (and on). Again, welcome to the good old days.
Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald. Email: ddavison@houstonherald.com.