By Dr. Curtis Varnell
A lively discussion was going on across the tables at the restaurant. “Back in the good old days, one piped up, we didn’t have that kind of foolishness. People worked for a living, we didn’t worry about having shootings in schools, and all these problems we have now.” His neighbor, clearly disagreeing, returned, “yeah, those were good old days. You’re sitting here in cool air-conditioning enjoying a cold soda waiting on your hamburger. In the good old days, you would be out sweating pulling a cotton sack through the bottoms and making five dollars a day. You get home you had a TV with one channel, a house full of kids, and one fan to keep cool. Heck, we still used an outhouse.” Clearly an oft discussed topic, everyone in the early morning coffee crowd had an opinion and most didn’t mind sharing it.
Having lived through the 60’s and 70’s and having heard stories of earlier times from my parents, one could identify with comments from both sides of the aisle. The 50’s and 60’s especially are viewed as some of the best days in American history. The “greatest” generation were those returning from WWII to a booming society filled with new technology and convenience items their forefathers had only dreamed of. Industry, geared up to full production from the war years, was turning out automobiles, television, telephones, and all types of new home appliances to make life easier for the common families living in the new suburban America.
Living in small Arkansas and growing up in the sixties, maybe all of that hype didn’t quite match reality. By my upper-elementary years, my family had moved from our migrant status to worker class. My dad worked at a local rock quarry for $1.25 per hour or sixty dollars a week. Living off the main road, electricity had finally arrived and we had a few appliances and, eventually a TV offering one channel. We still drew water from a well and had an outhouse. The salary, although low, allowed my family to purchase a home a few years later for $4,000. Dad bought a new 1965 Plymouth for $3,500. After he began his own business, he was making a grand total of $5,000 a year and living well on it.
When referring to the good old days, most people are not talking about economics, they are talking about quality of life. Living in small town Arkansas had its advantages and they were measured in intangibles that aren’t determined by bank accounts, size of homes, or possessions. In Arkansas schools today, nearly one-half of the kids either live with single parents or grandparents. There appears much less a consensus of what is right or wrong, and less faith in our country and its leaders.
In 1950, less that 20% of married couples ended up in divorce. By 1970, 50% of couples divorced. About half of the children born to parents after 1970 see their parents’ divorce, a total of over one million children per year.
During the same period of time, church attendance (all religious beliefs) in America decreased dramatically. According to Gallup data, in just the last twenty years, regular attendance at religious services has decreased from 42% to 30%. While church attendance and even intact families are not necessarily essential to a “good” life, they are indicative of a sense of belonging, of security, and as a bastion of common morals and goals.
America was far from perfect when I was growing up. There was racism, poverty, exploitation of labor, hard-work, inequity, and all of the other evils that still exist. We have selective memory and we memorize most what was most important to us. Listening to the discussion around me, makes me aware that when people are discussing those old days, they are discussing values and feelings rather than convenience of living. Many realize they were blessed that they had two hard-working parents where they felt loved and cared for, a church and school where they were taught right and wrong, a common belief that their country was just and upright, and a feeling that they were a part of something bigger than ourselves.
A quarter-century from now, our kids will be thinking of life today as the good old days. We can’t change the world, but we have the power to create those positive memories for our families and our communities. I see people every day doing just that!
