DrDirt
Banger
   
   
      
  
Since: 8.10.03
From: flyover country
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|  #1 Posted on 20.7.06 1200.32 | Instant Rating: 8.02 | As many of us swelter in 100+ heat, the Middle East is boiling, gas is $3, and so on, I was reminded of Ronald Reagan's 1980 campaign slogan: "Are you beeter off now than you were four years ago?" So are we as a country and even world better off now than say 50 or more years ago?
IMO, yes, in spite of everything I will say yes with all the advances in technology, the extension of the human lifespan and the overall quality.
Perception is reality| Promote this thread! |           | Lexus
Lap cheong
Since: 2.1.02
From: Stafford, VA
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| #2 Posted on 20.7.06 1322.31 | Instant Rating: 5.30 | Technology is one thing. 50 years ago the internet didn't exist. Thusly, sharing stupidity was more of a word of mouth game, and was mostly regionalized, if that. I'm not even prepared to guess how hard it was to find a video of a chimpanzee urinating into it's own mouth back then.
The middle east has been boiling since '48. Now, the cold war isn't going on. I don't have to worry about ICBMs destroying everything. I do, however, have to worry about someone with a dirty bomb and a lot of pent up stress.
The only steps we've taken are in civil rights.
Hold nothing sacred and you'll never be dissapointed. Especially not this statement. | Nag
Landjager
Since: 10.1.03
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| #3 Posted on 20.7.06 2149.18 | Instant Rating: 4.52 | From a societal view, No!
What I respect the most about that generation is, unlike our own, at the core of their moral code lay something more commendable than the almighty dollar. I'm not so naive to say there wasn't greed in those days when there obviously there was, but what I understand from talking to WW2 generation people, the have-nots, didn't have VISA fueled delusions of grandeur and possession like we do today.
They attempted, maybe unsuccessfully, to raise their children to be good people, not successful, but good people.
What speaks volumes is this, look at these soccer moms today, it's unlikely she gives a damn if little Timmy turns out to be a complete asshole, as long as he goes to college and becomes a doctor his qualities as a person are null and void. That's the mindset of the majority of people today, the children today, are treated much like cars or a Christmas light display, just something to try and outdick the Jones with.
I could write an essay, about political correctness, outsourcing and the trash that passes for entertainment these days, but wanton greed, that's Americas cancer.
"A guy from Ohio can make it in life if he works hard enough."--Woody Hayes | Kevintripod
Andouille
Since: 11.5.03
From: Mount Pleasant, Pa.
Since last post: 21 hours
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| #4 Posted on 20.7.06 2220.22 | Instant Rating: 5.19 | Originally posted by DrDirt
"Are you beeter off now than you were four years ago?"
I personally would say no.
Only things I can think of that's better now that I couldn't have 4 years ago are my IPOD and HDTV.
I definitely would take the much lower priced gas over that.
"Oh it's on like Donkey Kong." - Stifler, American Wedding | JayJayDean
Scrapple
Since: 2.1.02
From: Seattle, WA
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| #5 Posted on 21.7.06 0936.18 | Instant Rating: 6.44 | I kind of think we peaked at the fax machine. Cell phones are great from a personal safety point-of-view and all, but I don't think it's necessarily an improvement that my clients can essentially reach me 24/7, because it's caused a sense of "I don't have to know this because I can just call you" and then *I* get the blame if, God forbid, I don't have my cell phone or I'm in an area with no bars.
People who solely try to depend on e-mail to communicate are a pain, too. If you have a question that requires, you know, an actual discussion to figure out the answer, you might have to use that thing on your desk with the buttons and the handset. You might remember that thing as the "telephone", or just "phone" for short.
One of these days there is going to be a multiple homicide in the Pacific Northwest, and it's going to be me going on a killing spree because someone asked me to resummarize a conversation we just had in an e-mail, because they didn't write anything down or they just want to have it on record or whatever. How about you use your fucking brain and REMEMBER it? Geez.
"You know what you need?
Some new quotes in your sig.
Yeah, I said it." -- DJFrostyFreeze
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| pieman
As young as
he feels
Since: 11.12.01
From: China, Maine
Since last post: 3 days
Last activity: 1 day
| #6 Posted on 21.7.06 1243.30 | Instant Rating: 7.80 |
Originally posted by JayJayDean
God forbid, I don't have my cell phone or I'm in an area with no bars.
This is why you should always keep beer in your refrigerator.
Gabba Gabba Hey! |
| Tenken347
Andouille
Since: 27.2.03
From: Parts Unknown
Since last post: 5 hours
Last activity: 1 hour
| #7 Posted on 21.7.06 1409.21 | Instant Rating: 3.50 | Originally posted by Nag
From a societal view, No!
What I respect the most about that generation is, unlike our own, at the core of their moral code lay something more commendable than the almighty dollar. I'm not so naive to say there wasn't greed in those days when there obviously there was, but what I understand from talking to WW2 generation people, the have-nots, didn't have VISA fueled delusions of grandeur and possession like we do today.
The rise in consumerism in the post-WWII era was a deliberate and calculated effort by several sectors (most notably Hollywood) to keep the economy strong in the wake of the end of the war. Without the wartime manufacturing to keep money moving, industries basically just convinced Americans to keep buying things, even if they didn't need them. | Oliver
Scrapple
Since: 20.6.02
From: Derkaderkastan
Since last post: 8 days
Last activity: 6 days
|  #8 Posted on 22.7.06 0158.28 | Instant Rating: 4.70 | I think back to when I was 18, and to where i am now (ten years later) and I realize that yes, things are better: I have a bigger place, a better job, and I live in a nicer city. Of course, it's been one hell of a ride from 1996 and 2006...but I wouldn't have changed anything for the world.
However, society...? I wont' even go there :-)
Here, look at the monkey! Look at the silly monkey! | Toast Jr
Chourico
Since: 30.1.03
From: Stafford Springs, CT
Since last post: 5 hours
Last activity: 41 min.
| #9 Posted on 22.7.06 0731.32 | Instant Rating: 6.23 | | Some things are better, some worse. People have been quick to point out he negative, but there are improvements too. I was at a big Catholic Church festival in a very traditional Italian neighborhood and walking along were two men holding hands being lovey-dovey like any hetero couple. No one even took notice or cared. Ten years ago? You bet someone would have beat the crap out of them. I think overall society is growing more tolerant of people other genders, races, religions, sexual orientations, etc. There are still your areas where this isn't so, but on a whole I see improvement. |
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