What Is The Real Reason Some Yearn For The Good old Days?

I think many of us look back at the old days as better, due to the fact we were immature and ignorant kids. Even with today's problems, I would not choose to re-live those days. That is not to say there wasn't the occasional good experience in my life .. just, very few.
 

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fmdog44 said:
To everyone that believes life was simpler back when you were kids if you could ask your parents they would tell you life was not simple but challenging just like now.
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Every generation lives experiences ups and downs, but I'd take the old way over today, any day.

Our world today is no where near the same as it was yesteryear. All I see when I look at the world we live in today is turmoil. A rat race to no where.
 
I don't yearn for the "good old days." Lots of anxiety then, too. Korean War, Vietnam War, Cold War, the proliferation of bomb shelters. Fights for civil rights, women's rights, voting rights, and rights for the disabled. We had unsafe cars, a cancer diagnosis was a virtual death sentence, children were often beaten within an inch of their lives - as were many women, and sexual abuse was rampant.

No rose colored glasses for this gal. I did my time in the 50s and 60s already. Once through was enough for me.
 

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First, I remember being scared out of my wits when the Cuban Missile Crisis happened. Then, due to the restrictions I had with step parents, couldn't wait to graduate high school and move out. But, after moving out, the Navy called me up and I found out, extremely fast, just how good I had it before I was called up.

Of the very few things I miss from "yesteryear", I do miss the old tv programs, such as Superman, Jack Lord of Hawaii Five-O and all of the old Westerns I use to watch. Good thing is, many of my favorite Westerns are on two channels we get.

Now, what I like about today, that I didn't have in the Navy or early jobs..........computers. Back then, only had an electric typewriter. Also, having an iPhone sure beats the heck out of waiting to look something up at home on the computer. It also beats pulling off of a freeway to look for a payphone! Like the digital cameras of today. To me, much better than the old film cameras where the film had to be taken in for processing. I do my own processing on our computer. IOW, I love the "electronic age" of today, which we didn't have way back when.

I would tell anyone, "if I ever did go back to the Rin-Tin-Tin and Lassie days, I'd take my iPhone and laptop with me!"
 
StarSong's 'rose collored glasses
I was asking myself, what about the uncertainty, the anxieties, the lack of understand; we were on the breech of adulthood we were not yearning for the secure clasp of our parents
So, What Was So Great About It?
Again, young strong, invulnerable and a lot of stupid- Adulthood was a scary certainty.
 
StarSong said:
I don't yearn for the "good old days." Lots of anxiety then, too. Korean War, Vietnam War, Cold War, the proliferation of bomb shelters. Fights for civil rights, women's rights, voting rights, and rights for the disabled. We had unsafe cars, a cancer diagnosis was a virtual death sentence, children were often beaten within an inch of their lives - as were many women, and sexual abuse was rampant.

No rose colored glasses for this gal. I did my time in the 50s and 60s already. Once through was enough for me.
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I took the question to mean how it affected me personally. Everything you stated is true, but as a child until I was 18, I never had to deal with any of it. In fact, even though we would watch the news, we never saw it mattering to us. You’re a kid, you don’t think about some of the things you mentioned. At least I don’t remember being concerned with it. Didn’t mean to be selfish or self-centered. I was just a kid.
 
How very fortunate you were, 911, and I mean that sincerely. My childhood wasn't so smooth. Based on glimpses from other SF posters, I wasn't the only one.

Many of us were beaten, molested, threatened and/or neglected. Most often at the hands of our own parents. When the betrayal comes from those who are responsible for your care, who are supposed to be looking out for you, the world is a terrifying place.

Having been a police officer for so many years, you surely have seen some horrific examples of what I'm describing. I'd bet that those children/victims wouldn't return to their "good old days" for all the tea in China.

I envy those who had a smooth childhood. It's such a wonderful gift.
 
I'm thinking:
the kids that were traumatized, beat like a dog, sexually abused, severely
verbally abused-are not going to post on this thread?
don't think there are a lot on SF

otherwise, it is a cathartic purge for those of us that got our butts beat-and deserved every whack
'Mommy done me wrong.'
 
jerry old said:
I'm thinking:
the kids that were traumatized, beat like a dog, sexually abused, severely
verbally abused-are not going to post on this thread?
don't think there are a lot on SF

otherwise, it is a cathartic purge for those of us that got our butts beat-and deserved every whack
'Mommy done me wrong.'
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Oh? Really? Hmm, have you read my threads? Hmm, ignorance is bliss, I suppose. Or, here is a thought read my threads, me thinks you are wrong. @jerry old

Edited: I was beaten worst than a dog.
 
jerry old said:
I'm thinking:
the kids that were traumatized, beat like a dog, sexually abused, severely
verbally abused-are not going to post on this thread?
don't think there are a lot on SF

otherwise, it is a cathartic purge for those of us that got our butts beat-and deserved every whack
'Mommy done me wrong.'
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Many of the long term posters know the story of my childhood. It isn’t pretty. I was abused in all ways possible, just a part of normal everyday life in paedophileland for the little sex slave they named “the doll.” Number one child whore in a stable of fifteen children, boys and girls. I am the only one who survived to adulthood. Understandable, I think, why it might be difficult to post stuff like this. There are a number of members here who have horrific memories not much different than my own
 
For me I don't yearn for "The Good Old Days". For me the changes in society from decades from the 1940's to now have been the good old days. If I get thru this decade, these will be the good old days for me.

As a question looking for a single reason. I don't think the real reason can be answered as a single question. Because IMO there is no one answer that applies to everyone.
 
Shalimar said:
Many of the long term posters know the story of my childhood. It isn’t pretty. I was abused in all ways possible, just a part of normal everyday life in paedophileland for the little sex slave they named “the doll.” Number one child whore in a stable of fifteen children, boys and girls. I am the only one who survived to adulthood. Understandable, I think, why it might be difficult to post stuff like this. There are a number of members here who have horrific memories not much different than my own
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It breaks my heart, simply breaks my heart for you and the others. I am so very sorry. People don’t understand, we, the survivors, don’t understand. How could they, we were children, how could they do this? I have no answers.

Healing is a process. We heal so we no longer have bleeding wounds, emotional or physical; but the scabs are there, the scars are there, and the hurt continues. For me, always the question: how could they? Never an answer.

I have a school picture of me, I am 9 or 10. I see the sadness and pain and confusion in the face of the little girl I was and I think, again, how could they? I realize now, at 74, closure will never come. I will die, asking, how could they?
 
It was "acceptable" under certain circumstances to hit your spouse and kids. Police and governments in general went unchecked. The number of schools in the country was grossly under what it should have been. Bigotry was alive and flourishing. A woman's right to not be sexually harrassed at work was non-existent. The foods in supermarkets went largely unregulated for safety. Truth in labeling for medicines and food went unchecked.
A workers right to appeal company's decision to terminate for no reason did not exist. Unions were corrupt. Chemical pollution of water bodies was not monitored. Littering was everywhere. Quality in American products was a joke. I'm sure I left some things out about life back when but it should be enough to make one rethink living 50-70 years ago was better than today.
 
Aneeda72 said:
It breaks my heart, simply breaks my heart for you and the others. I am so very sorry. People don’t understand, we, the survivors, don’t understand. How could they, we were children, how could they do this? I have no answers.

Healing is a process. We heal so we no longer have bleeding wounds, emotional or physical; but the scabs are there, the scars are there, and the hurt continues. For me, always the question: how could they? Never an answer.

I have a school picture of me, I am 9 or 10. I see the sadness and pain and confusion in the face of the little girl I was and I think, again, how could they? I realize now, at 74, closure will never come. I will die, asking, how could they?
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Ohhh, how your compassion washes over me and I weep healing tears. The child in me thanks you for the love also. I still ask how could they, and I am a psychotherapist.
 
I yearn for the old days because they WERE simpler. I was lucky, I had a good childhood. I could roam my neighborhood with the rest of the kids until it got dark or my mom called me in. I was not abused. Kids socialized, neighbors socialized. People didn't rely on technology for every little thing. We entertained ourselves. Sure, there were problems but we had the freedom to figure out a solution.

Now, everything and everyone is tracked within an inch of their lives. You step outside of your house and you are subject to being tracked, photographed, videoed. No privacy whatsoever. We are now living 1984. The 24/7 tabloid propaganda we have makes sure we shake in our shoes about everything.

Kid's lives are now structured for them. No just going out to play. Most people don't think it's safe to let their kids play in the neighborhood. We have a problem with human trafficking. I am in no way dismissing those that had traumatic, terrible childhoods, but I think that still happens today.

I don't like where I see society heading. We are withdrawing more and more into ourselves. Soon we will exist in virtual worlds.
 
It's always a challenge. Remember gas lines? 21 percent interest rates? 14 percent inflation? AIDS? Vietnam? The Weathermen? The Iranian hostage crisis? One thing fades, another thing comes along.

Generally speaking, I find people today to be less well-mannered, more slovenly, fatter, and less well-educated than they once were. That's just an overall impression and there are many, many exceptions.
 
Today, some of us in this forum look around, and see a hectic, chaotic, complex world. But for others, this will be their "good old days", when life was simple and easy. Ancient Greeks complained about their kids, and the fast life, thousands of years ago. The Romans were always trying to "restore" the 'good old days', two thousand years ago. "The good old days" exist in our memories.. They probably weren't all that good. We probably scrubbed them down to take away some of the pain. Maybe we cherish those days, because they are past, and we know the outcome. We know what happened next, and we survived it. We don't know that about tomorrow, we don't know what the outcome will be. Maybe that's what's unsettling about today.
 
Aneeda72 said:
It breaks my heart, simply breaks my heart for you and the others. I am so very sorry. People don’t understand, we, the survivors, don’t understand. How could they, we were children, how could they do this? I have no answers.

Healing is a process. We heal so we no longer have bleeding wounds, emotional or physical; but the scabs are there, the scars are there, and the hurt continues. For me, always the question: how could they? Never an answer.

I have a school picture of me, I am 9 or 10. I see the sadness and pain and confusion in the face of the little girl I was and I think, again, how could they? I realize now, at 74, closure will never come. I will die, asking, how could they?
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You are 100% correct. I don't understand. I had a marvelous childhood. I was just talking about this subject with another retired pilot early this a.m. I told him that I didn't know I would do if I was a child today. I would hope that I wouldn't be walking around glued to my phone. OK, so I grew up in a family that had money and I have believed for many years that makes a huge difference because adults don't have any financial worries or stressors as to how to pay the bills and such, and are able to concentrate more on raising the family. "Money may not buy happiness, but it makes being miserable a whole lot more tolerable." (Not my words, but I saw it on a bumper sticker one time and it stayed with me.)

I don't know how some of you survived. I'm serious. I have never felt the wrath of my dad's belt or hands, for that matter. My mom was a kind, sweet lady, who just wanted me to grow up good and decent. Attire was what concerned my mom. "Never look like a bum or act like a fool," she would say from time to time. It must have stuck that I still remember her saying that to us kids.

I feel very bad for those of you that had to tolerate such parents and relatives with their bad behavior. As an outsider, I ask myself "Why didn't they tell someone?" Maybe because they were afraid to? I really don't know. Why would anyone tolerate being beaten or sexually abused? It's a little mind-boggling to me. I really do not understand. Do you think that kind of stuff still goes on even today? Can't teachers or neighbors recognize children that are being abused? This can't go on. What can we do? Better yet, what can I do?

I am sorry that any one of you that was abused had to tolerate that behavior. It's just plain unacceptable.
 
JimBob1952 said:
It's always a challenge. Remember gas lines? 21 percent interest rates? 14 percent inflation? AIDS? Vietnam? The Weathermen? The Iranian hostage crisis? One thing fades, another thing comes along.

Generally speaking, I find people today to be less well-mannered, more slovenly, fatter, and less well-educated than they once were. That's just an overall impression and there are many, many exceptions.
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I get that, but as a child, do you really pay attention to those things? I never did.
 
oldman said:
As an outsider, I ask myself "Why didn't they tell someone?" Maybe because they were afraid to? I really don't know. Why would anyone tolerate being beaten or sexually abused? I
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First of all I was afraid to. If I outed my father and wasn't believed or there were no consequences, he would have beaten me within an inch of my life. Maybe even killed me.
Secondly, I didn't know it was illegal. Children were essentially chattel in the 1960s. Short of killing them, parents could pretty much treat offspring however they deemed appropriate.
Thirdly, if he somehow went to prison, who would support the family? I'd be responsible for throwing a large family into poverty.

If I'd reported it to someone or run away (which I often considered) the question that always came to my mind was, "Then what?" I figured, probably correctly, that no relative would take me in even if they believed me because their primary alliances were with my parents. Neighbors or parents of friends? Not likely. So where would I go and what would I do? Live on the streets? How, exactly did one do that? I had no clue. I also believed I'd never again see my siblings, grandparents, relatives or friends I treasured.

I endured, as did most in my situation. We waited out the clock. In my case, it took five years.

At my 40th HS reunion a group of about 15 chatted deep into the night about our childhoods and teens. It was an eye opener to us all. So many had similar experiences, felt the shame, and kept the secrets. None of us knew the others were suffering, and the ones with good childhoods were stunned to learn what was going on in their best friends' households.

I've read that somewhere around 25% of American adults were sexually abused by the time they reach the age of 18. It's a statistic I have no difficulty believing.
 
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oldman said:
You are 100% correct. I don't understand. I had a marvelous childhood. I was just talking about this subject with another retired pilot early this a.m. I told him that I didn't know I would do if I was a child today. I would hope that I wouldn't be walking around glued to my phone. OK, so I grew up in a family that had money and I have believed for many years that makes a huge difference because adults don't have any financial worries or stressors as to how to pay the bills and such, and are able to concentrate more on raising the family. "Money may not buy happiness, but it makes being miserable a whole lot more tolerable." (Not my words, but I saw it on a bumper sticker one time and it stayed with me.)

I don't know how some of you survived. I'm serious. I have never felt the wrath of my dad's belt or hands, for that matter. My mom was a kind, sweet lady, who just wanted me to grow up good and decent. Attire was what concerned my mom. "Never look like a bum or act like a fool," she would say from time to time. It must have stuck that I still remember her saying that to us kids.

I feel very bad for those of you that had to tolerate such parents and relatives with their bad behavior. As an outsider, I ask myself "Why didn't they tell someone?" Maybe because they were afraid to? I really don't know. Why would anyone tolerate being beaten or sexually abused? It's a little mind-boggling to me. I really do not understand. Do you think that kind of stuff still goes on even today? Can't teachers or neighbors recognize children that are being abused? This can't go on. What can we do? Better yet, what can I do?

I am sorry that any one of you that was abused had to tolerate that behavior. It's just plain unacceptable.
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I was a slave, who could I have told? Who would have believed me? I was a small child when it began, powerless. Later, I knew retribution would be swift if I opened my mouth. Other children would die, my family also, even though they were the ones who rented me out to the monsters.

Eventually, at seventeen, I ran away to the streets. Had I not been rescued by the wonderful vet who found me beaten and broken, huddled in an alley, I would have died. He gave me back my life, and I have been paying it forward ever since.
 
Shalimar said:
I was a slave, who could I have told? Who would have believed me? I was a small child when it began, powerless. Later, I knew retribution would be swift if I opened my mouth. Other children would die, my family also, even though they were the ones who rented me out to the monsters.

Eventually, at seventeen, I ran away to the streets. Had I not been rescued by the wonderful vet who found me beaten and broken, huddled in an alley, I would have died. He gave me back my life, and I have been paying it forward ever since.
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@Shalimar
You are a very strong woman, and you give so much of yourself to others.
Bless your heart.
 
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