Were They Really the Good Old Days?

[Dr_Zinj]

Life was simple 20,000 years ago in New Hampshire.
Here's what it looked like.
View attachment Ice Age NH.bmp

 

[paulharvey]

"We Know More" ??? I seriously beg to differ. I saw a documentary from the 80s and it mentioned that never have people known or understood so little about the world they live in. Imagine how that has gotten worse today? Ever see Jay Leno interview people on the street aka Jay Walking. One guy was aksed what countries border the States, he replied Australia and Hawaii, I believe.

And people wonder why this society is going off the rails!

We do know more. We know that alternating peanuts with corn will do better than leeching N till no corn will grow. We know to keep sick people away from healthy. We have the entire knowledge of the world at our finger tips. Now, does it really matter to your daily life if you can name the nation north of us? Not really.

There is lots of ignorance in all societies, but as a whole the world and the USA has taken probably 10 steps forward and 3 steps back. We have less freedom, privacy, and have gained comfort, heallth, food, moobility, ect. You can argue that we are soft, and in the long run it will be our doom, but it hasn't got us yet.

We are following a similar track to Imperial Rome though. They where brought down in the end by comform, lazyness, uncontrolled immigration, over extended military, incompetent leaders, and devaluing their currency (the silver content was lower and lower in there coins)

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Life was simple 20,000 years ago in New Hampshire.
Here's what it looked like.
View attachment 359465

Wow! A guy could get lost in that.

 

[Industrial Toys]

People largly don't know how their cars work. ****, many don't even know how to drive them nor the laws of physics that apply to their use! Nor their cell phones, or anything electronic or even electrical for that matter. They don't know how medication works, or where their food comes from. I could go on and on and on!

Many, or dare I say most, are just stupid, mindless, dumbed down consumers who spend their free time watching REALITY shows! And NO, I certainly would not put your average Farmer into this group.

 

[jaotguy]

when was the last time you saw someone change their own flat tire ... most don't even know where the spare is , let alone what a jack looks like.

read a road map ? check the fluids in their vehicle ... air pressure in the tires ? have what was called "common sense"?

most drive by "rubber necking" whenever there is anything on the side of the road that is more interesting than grass growing ... all the while talking or texting on their phone. .....

Is having the car park itself or drive itself going to do us any good? or just allow more incompetents to get behind the wheel?

Most rural folk have been brought up to use their heads a bit, and that neighbors should help each other.... both prime examples of earlier times and thinking.

Urbanites move to the country and pave the driveways, cut down the trees and want acres of manicured lawns Paving puts oils and chemicals into the water table each time it rains. ( do they really like a tall cool glass of funny tasting water?) Manicured lawns require lots of water, drawn from the water table, to keep them looking green. ( hey, the well went dry this year ... )

I grew up poor , but not hungry... as did most of the folk around us. Things were simpler and in some cases definitely BETTER.
home cooked meals, real ice cream, apple pie, sense of community, looking out for each other, pride in workmanship.

 

[Industrial Toys]

One British traffic safety expert said that what we need is a large "spike" (said in a very heavy british accent) installed in the middle of the steering wheel, not an increasingly larger number of air bags and other safety features, if you want accident rates to go down!

 

[smstonypoint]

One British traffic safety expert said that what we need is a large "spike" (said in a very heavy british accent) installed in the middle of the steering wheel, not an increasingly larger number of air bags and other safety features, if you want accident rates to go down!

Actually, I think that idea is due to Gordon Tullock: Gordon Tullock | The Market Monetarist or http://cafehayek.com/2007/12/promoting-safe.html.

He was on the faculty at Virginia Tech while I was in graduate school there in the 1970s. He also proposed a solution that would deter students from parking illegally in faculty parking spaces. The campus police should select an illegally-parked vehicle at random, tow it to the "Drill Field' (a large open area in the middle of campus), and set it ablaze.

Steve

 

[oldballs]

I'll go for some simple stuff. How about in "the good old days", one could buy a gas can that worked (without cussing or failing parts) and lasted all my lifetime.....or one could buy some 22LR ammo any time at a fair price.

 

[Egbert]

I remember when gas stations were called service stations, not convenience stores. I remember having someone clean the windows, check the oil and tire pressure, while the fuel was pumping. I remember when families consisted of a husband, wife and children. I remember when those children came after the marriage. I remember when shacking up was disgraceful and not bragged about on Facebook.

I even remember families having evening meals together.

 

[SPYDERLK]

The old days were better. Being personally better off now doesnt change that.