IslandSpecific,
Up until my forties, when I thought back on my childhood, I thought it sucked. It was depressing to think about it. One day I decided to sit down and try to find something, anything, that was good about it. Well, one thing led to another, like such things tend to do, and guess what? There were a lot of really good times there too!
I was mildly shocked and pleasantly surprised. The exercise changed my life. Our past depends on where we focus your attention and so is our present. Sure, there will be times when things don't go our way or events that seem like really bad luck. But if we look at everything as a lesson to be learned we find that everything has a purpose and no matter how bad they seem, they will all benefit us if we make the effort to learn the lesson. There are no accidents.
Yes, I could do that too, as there were many negative things in my life as a child, I see the good, and there was good, a child must see the
world out there, and embrace it, see beyond the lives of others, and reach
out for a life of your own, and I can see where I did that,in spite of others
around me, who were miserable and battling, for the most part I went about my
business enjoying life, learning about myself, and finding what interested me,
and the town and the school and the opportunities, and most of all the freedom
to come and go, and grow up, 'my way'. We were in a free society, the wars
were 'over there', (europe/japan), and we were allowed to grow up and make
our own lives as we saw fit, 'over there' ,they couldn't, what a huge difference.
The drug gangs didn't exist, now they do, a child must be so careful now, watch
them all the time, can't go alone, stay out of the parks, movies, I was at the
movies all the time, as a child. Sure there were some problems, as some have
pointed out, but the big picture was one of progress and freedom, and the
children of then, became the working moms of today, who are independent,
and have their own power, I grew up with the attitude that I could do anything I
wanted, (didn't have any money), so that was limited, and I never felt dependent
on anyone.
Now, speaking of today, HOW is anyone going get control of the drug problem,
it is huge, it has a vice grip on society, it is worse than any war, and no one seems to be able to control it, what will it be like in 50 years from now.