If you are a ‘Boomer’, remember when….
We didn’t care what political party our friends belonged to?
We all knew talking about sex to kindergartners was foolish, at best?
That people deluded into thinking they were something they were not, was classified as mental illness?
Our sense of community and shared values came about because we had conversations. Town hall meetings, PTA, little league games, places of worship, casual chats with neighbors, and just about anywhere was acceptable for a friendly (even if sometimes heated) chat.
Maybe it was the carry-over optimism the country had after winning WW2 that endured for a time. We pulled together for so long, and for such a difficult task there was a “can-do”, “we’re in this together” feeling.
Then we grew up. We needed a mission as noble as what our parents had. Our generation was given freedoms and affluence… and we should do something worthwhile. Perhaps Mark Twain first said if you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. So, there was Watergate, Civil rights, Earth Day, environmental protection and so on.
What was left behind was that community dialog. Our neighbors slowly turned into probable haters or oppressors. We stopped talking to each other and connected with other like-minded zealots on social media. Our successful politicians were the ones that could build a coalition of victims or social warriors. Common terms now, that disavow that neighborly sense.
If you are NOT a Boomer, you’ve seen this all your life. You are probably unaware of the greatness our Constitution and Founding Fathers left us, and how much we Boomers have foolishly cast aside.
Am I wrong? We created this; we can fix it. Let’s re-start the dialog again as neighbors.
Please add your thoughts in the “Comments” section below.
David Wilder
I am ever hopeful, and follow the suggestion. We have politicians, media and people brain washed by the foregoing. I am doubtful a change can occur in the near future.