Here's an interesting post by Ed Dentino who lives in East Peoria:
EAST PEORIA -- Occasionally, I get messages giving expression to how wonderful it was in the good old days. The authors lament changes they are prejudiced against, and blame politicians for what has, in their view, made living in the United States so much less enjoyable.
If you picked up a birthday card reading '1958' and read through it, the economic, cultural realities would appear to be very different, almost odd.
In 1958, a refrigerator and transistor radio were 'hi tech' devices. Cancers of many kinds were common killers that are stoppable and curable today. An "Indy" car could win the race at 120 mph. A house could be bought, with lot and utilities, for under $20,000. A new car could be bought for under $2,000. The progressive income tax was much steeper and being a 'millionaire' was a phenomenon. Illinois had a progressive automobile tax based on horsepower. Illinois did not have an income tax, but there was a property tax.
I recall the time pretty well, and it was pleasant. I was 14, going to Roosevelt Junior High School. 'I like Ike' Eisenhower was president and we seemed to be comfortable, even though teachers told us to get under our desks occasionally, or go to the basement, or go outside, for various drills of 'emergency' needs. Alaska and Hawaii were new states.
I don't put any cultural, religious, economic or political baggage into my thoughts about the past. Leave that to the movie makers who can script and costume actors and sets. Reverence for history and the past is to see both the good and bad, the conservation of resources and basic culture, and to recognize that progress is moving us toward benefits of many kinds.
In 1958, opportunity was talked about as being available, yet banks and property sellers 'red lined' the cities - blocking opportunities for housing. Corporations discriminated. Stores discriminated.
Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, Sugar Ray Robinson, Althea Gibson, were sports heroes, along with many who had served in World War II and Korea, who were not able to eat at local cafes or use 'white only' water fountains and toilets in Southern States. Asians, Hawaiians, Indians, and Mexicans were part of the discriminated against population even though their ancestral roots were deeper in North American soil than most of the European heritage Americans.
I don't think the clock will run backwards. Even if politicians, along with courts and corporations, have enabled and affected the social, cultural, religious, and political dynamics of our nation, the country is very different, with a very different cast of characters.
Apparently, the authors lamenting the glory of the old days hasn't recalled that the Constitution of the United States of America and its Bill of Rights was a charter to enable freedom and citizen participation in government.
Now, we see the complex society, with its economic dynamics and social identity recognitions that were not visible in 1958. Several had existed since before the Constitution was written, and grew and became part of our current identity with progress that should be admired and problems that require critical thought to resolve.
Giving the country and its political power to the wealthiest people would not make that change, only confirm this progress to the dust bin of history. Warren Buffet and Bill Gates aren't talking about using their wealth to get the country back to 1958. They talk about the opportunities to use resources in progressive and problem solving ways for the United States and other countries around the planet.
The writers longing for seamless, timeless conformity to a single standard would probably enjoy living in Saudi Arabia.
-- Ed Dentino
COMMENTS: Oct. 15, 2008.
Dianne Beetler writes:
I remember 1958. I was seven years old, and my second grade teacher read "Old Yeller" to the class every day after lunch.
Two rooms of the old farmhouse where we lived weren't wired for electricity. Water came from a hand pump in the kitchen and was heated on the electric stove by my Mom. We used the laundry tubs for bathing, except during the summer, when we utilized my dad's homemade shower in one of the farm sheds.
The "little house out back" functioned as a bathroom. Two little neighbor kids walked half a mile to our house one winter day, and my Mom was appalled because they weren't wearing gloves. We didn't have much, but she scrounged around and found some mittens for them to wear home.
That may have been the winter my parents decided that a couple of nights were too cold too sleep in the bedrooms upstairs. They spread sheets on the living room floor (directly above the furnace in the cellar), and we slept on the floor covered with blankets.
1958 wasn't a bad year, and 2008 isn't either. The best time to live is the time you're given! -30-
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