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What Happened to the Enthusiastic America

Worlds Fairs, the Cities of Tomorrow, Popular Mechanics extolling the benefits of space travel. Technological gains, etc etc.

This was the world I grew up in with my family. The 50's and 60's - and for that matter, it was the zeitgeist of the 19th and 20th centuries.

So what happened?

We live in fear: of pollution, global warming, the ice age, recession. What happened to our collective imagination and our collective spine? Does no one have hope for the future anymore? I wonder if the media is mirroring the public, or more likely, the other way around.

To what degree do small families or childless marriages play in to this. I think you have to have a fair amount of optimism about the future if you are going to bring others in to it. Certainly we live in a time of great comfort, leisure and safety (as a whole). So why is America no longer optimistic about the future?

Rambling I know...

A lot of the people in this county are lazy!

Quote:

Originally Posted by peppy (Post 3760222)

A lot of the people in this county are lazy!

Too lazy to think...get the widow on the set.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seahawk (Post 3760226)

Too lazy to think...get the widow on the set.

?????

Maybe it's the mass media and/or your point of view?

I read of amazing, promising developments in science and medicine every day. This thin little machine I'm using now would have been considered magic not too long ago, and that's scratching the surface of today's tech.

edit: Check out Virgin Galactic as well - it's not a colony on Mars, but taking a short trip into space is pretty cool, even more so that its development and implementation was/is via the private sector. There are many more examples . . .

I can't think of a more exciting time to be alive than now, excepting, of course, tomorrow. :)

Best,

Kurt

Quote:

Originally Posted by peppy (Post 3760231)

?????

Lyrics from an old Eagles song...bad news sells.

I AM optimistic. I have embraced technology, and I don't fear global warming et al. because, I believe, in the long run, mankind will prevail/adapt/survive with respect to whatever comes our way.

My question is, why have we collectively lost our enthusiasm for the future.

On another note - if you have no faith in the future, will you ever spend/consume enough to make the nation/world prosper and grow.

Fear seems to be an essential element in advertising these days: Fear of weather (snow, hurricanes, etc.), fear of housing declines, fear of stock market selloffs, fear of consumer confidence, fear of RECESSION.

Remember, FDR said "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Unfortunately, most people today weren't born when he said that. Turn off, and tune out.

Thanks Seahawk, I live under a rock.

Quote:

Originally Posted by peppy (Post 3760317)

Thanks Seahawk, I live under a rock.

Me, too...at least we're enthusiastic;)

I am forever optimistic in outlook but pessimistic in investments, a natural hedge;)

Well actually it wasn't all roses and flying cars. Our family lived near a SAC airbase in the late 50's. I recall many a drill in school for the impending Russian nukes coming any day now. I would bet 1 in 20 families had bomb shelters. Then there was the entire integration of schools deal. Then a pres was murdered, Detroit riots, burning looting, BK capped by a loony, MLK shot, Viet Nam quagmire, tricky dick, watergate, Ford, the peanut farmer, held hostage in Iran. Just a few things there to worry about.

I too lived through the duck-and-cover era. We were afraid of the Communists but optimistic about America's chances in the future. Why not now?

We now live in a world of instant gratification. Things have changed & will get worse before they get better, imho.

But why? Surely it goes beyond instant gratification...

These days it's all bought from China... If China doesn't make it you don't have it.

I used to love the Popluar Mechanics mag. It really was great reading. Now too many people are too busy doing too many things for too many people, so they dont have time for themselves.

Being born the month of the "first man on the moon" ... I missed all that fun :D

I've had many of the same thoughts since High School. The kids 1 year younger were a different generation :rolleyes:

I tend to think that the major turning point could be marked at :
JFK being assisnated (a convenient time reference)

I tend to think that the States went from wholesome and virgin to pety and self fulfilling. Look at the bling-bling. Yeah, I think some of it looks cool but the mentality is .... IMO ... wrong.

Wholesome ...

The Mafia bad as they were kept neighborhoods under control ( "control" does have it'sd problems too though )

TV had self control and was more worried about white-washing America into good Catholics. (NO, if I had a say about religion it'll go to the GOD threads ;) ) Interesting point was that Hollywood predominately not Catholic :interesting:

Unfortunately, from my perspective FLower Power suceeded -- Fight the establishment. However, it didn't suceed in instilling a new firm value system in place of what it was fighting against.

Welcome to the "information age" folks, the "industrial age" and American virginity is gone as much as Leave it to Beaver and Mr. Rogers. Today we have the Rambo Generation running ramped just because they didn't like being given a ride to the other side of town. (the sheriff was wrong too)

A change from "us and community" to "me, myself and I" in a societal reference brings good points and bad points. Hopefully, society will be able to correct its trajectory before things progress too far.

However, since every generation goes through it's own changes we must remember that we too thought our parents saying "I walked 2 miles through sleet and snow to go to school" was a bunch of crap.

Yet, it also our responsibility to show our children by walking the hard and rightful path and lead by example. Respect should not be demanded but rather should be earned.

lolo, talking about the "wholesome" past, I'm watching "The King and I" with Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner. Talking about change in 50 years.

I guess most folks were just more hopeful after the end of WWII and had idealistic dreams? It was certainly a national phenomenon in the US.

There are still dreamers; this may be Dubai in not too many years:

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