Fred--Of course the 50's & 60's are filled with wonderful memories for us Baby Boomers. Life in the U.S. can be great if certain politicians thought of country first & not their personal egos. I prefer not to post more publicly---how can I message you privately when time permits? Susan
The word that comes immediately to mind is poignant. Our memories hold on to some ideas, some images and our present moment reality often doesn't live up to the past. I recently re-read Yuval Noah Harari's book Sapiens. I think human beings were at their peak of joyful living 70,000years ago when they were in the hunting and gathering world. They spent 35-40 hours a week in the chores of living and then had time to notice and interact with the natural world around them. Yes, they often (though not always) died younger . A strong percentage of children didn't make it to 12 years old but hey, it was a rich life while it was being lived. 🤷🏻♀️. Thank you again for the thoughtful piece, Fred.
Thanks for your comment, Gracie. Yes, poignant seems to be the best word. I read Sapiens a few years ago, enjoying his lengthy look at prehistoric times. But I reached a point where I began to wonder where it was going. Arguing that hunter gatherers had better lives that those who domesticated animals and settled in permanent communities, that took the uncertainty out of surviving, enabled population growth and provided time to invent, and so in. Since Rousseau, the primitive has been lauded as somehow superior to civilized man. More virtuous, honest, free of private property, less likely to hate outsiders and so on. Magaret Made perpetrated this fantasy / fraud in the 1920s. Today the mindless chant “hey, hey, ho ho, western civ has got to go.” I’d better stop there. Harari may be a brilliant Oxford professor, but he may be addled by prevailing trends.
Hard times make strong men. Strong men make good times. Good times make weak men. Weak men make hard times. Hard times make strong men….. Stay Brave, Stay Free
The world has changed so much that the past is almost like a different planet. And, yes, one of those changes to America is that the existential threat has gone from being external to being internal.
Michael, Will Durant made the same observation about Ancient Rome. Once we finish destroying ourselves, China will have little trouble picking up the pieces, especially since they have four times the population.
No doubt that was true. It's been decades since I read any Will Durant, but I am now in the process of listening to his "The Age of Reason Begins: A History of European Civilization" on Audible. 32 hours! It begins with Elizabethan England, so no Rome. But it's good!
Fred--Of course the 50's & 60's are filled with wonderful memories for us Baby Boomers. Life in the U.S. can be great if certain politicians thought of country first & not their personal egos. I prefer not to post more publicly---how can I message you privately when time permits? Susan
Good old days 👍
The word that comes immediately to mind is poignant. Our memories hold on to some ideas, some images and our present moment reality often doesn't live up to the past. I recently re-read Yuval Noah Harari's book Sapiens. I think human beings were at their peak of joyful living 70,000years ago when they were in the hunting and gathering world. They spent 35-40 hours a week in the chores of living and then had time to notice and interact with the natural world around them. Yes, they often (though not always) died younger . A strong percentage of children didn't make it to 12 years old but hey, it was a rich life while it was being lived. 🤷🏻♀️. Thank you again for the thoughtful piece, Fred.
Thanks for your comment, Gracie. Yes, poignant seems to be the best word. I read Sapiens a few years ago, enjoying his lengthy look at prehistoric times. But I reached a point where I began to wonder where it was going. Arguing that hunter gatherers had better lives that those who domesticated animals and settled in permanent communities, that took the uncertainty out of surviving, enabled population growth and provided time to invent, and so in. Since Rousseau, the primitive has been lauded as somehow superior to civilized man. More virtuous, honest, free of private property, less likely to hate outsiders and so on. Magaret Made perpetrated this fantasy / fraud in the 1920s. Today the mindless chant “hey, hey, ho ho, western civ has got to go.” I’d better stop there. Harari may be a brilliant Oxford professor, but he may be addled by prevailing trends.
I for one would not bother with Harari. He is conduit to Satan.
Maybe. He could also be inviting us to deliberate before we move forward with what we believe to be progress. 🤷🏻♀️
No.
Time has rewritten every line.
Still, given the chance to do it all again, I would.
No, I’ve seen that around. I added stay brave, stay free.
Hard times make strong men. Strong men make good times. Good times make weak men. Weak men make hard times. Hard times make strong men….. Stay Brave, Stay Free
Is that your quote? It’s a good one.
Post ww2 America was full of strong men after the depression and ww2.
The world has changed so much that the past is almost like a different planet. And, yes, one of those changes to America is that the existential threat has gone from being external to being internal.
Michael, Will Durant made the same observation about Ancient Rome. Once we finish destroying ourselves, China will have little trouble picking up the pieces, especially since they have four times the population.
No doubt that was true. It's been decades since I read any Will Durant, but I am now in the process of listening to his "The Age of Reason Begins: A History of European Civilization" on Audible. 32 hours! It begins with Elizabethan England, so no Rome. But it's good!
I got the entire set when I joined the Book-of-the month club, and read most of them, maybe all. Thirty-two hours - not surprised. Big books.