Poll:- life better now or in 1959?
- Thread starter JLM
- Start date
Lots of things are news to you but is beside the point.
If life for the poorest of the poor hasn't improved it is impossible to claim that life is better today than any time in history not just 1959.
If life for the poorest of the poor hasn't improved it is impossible to claim that life is better today than any time in history not just 1959.
At the time the Cuyahoga was on fire were there streams you could drink from but can't today?
Yes, there are many streams that were not polluted in 1959, which are now.
But you're talking lifestyle, not life.
In 1959 most people had too much common sense to be dumping crap in drinking water. Remember, this was before the era of "do your own thing" and "f**k you Jack, I'm alright".
I was talking people not industries, but Industry was even cleaner then, even logging in some places was still done with a team of horses. There was of course wanton destruction by some industries. CM & S wasn't lily white by a long shot. A lot of practices are better today, we don't log right up to fish producing streams and less debris is left lying on logged off areas.
No they didn’t JLM; there was very little environmental awareness in those days. People polluted as they saw fit, they used asbestos as if it was a harmless substance. There was no awareness about saving, preserving the wildlife, preserving our lakes, rivers, oceans etc. It took the environmental movement to raise a big stink, to make people aware of the environmental problems facing the nation (and indeed, the world).
In fact, that was exactly the attitude in those days, "f**k you Jack, I'm alright". Society was very rigid, very stratified, people did not care about minorities, single mothers, did not care for women working out side home etc.
There were very few laws to help the poor; there was no universal health care. So anybody who could afford to pay for it, would get health care, anybody who couldn’t afford, well, too bad. "f**k you Jack, I'm alright". Yes, that was exactly the attitude in those days.
Yep, there was a lot of hysteria over asbestos, until it was determined to be safe. If you just leave it alone and don't go drilling holes in it or ripping it with a saw, it's harmless and good for fire prevention.
That's definitely better than in 1959. Back then the oceans were just blue. Now they have a variety of colors.
There are two types of asbestos, one is deadly, the other- chrysotile is fairly safe and is widely used today in such products as roofing material, pipe and cladding.
"In fact, that was exactly the attitude in those days, "f**k you Jack, I'm alright"."- Nope, that attitude didn't start until the late 60s. In 1959 people were quite polite and respectful of others, but I guess that's no good- anecdotal evidence!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Polite and respectful, yes. But that didn’t mean they cared about others. They were OK with blacks being denied employment, education opportunities etc. They were OK with imprisoning gays for consensual sex. They were OK with denying women education, employment, housing opportunities, equal credit, etc.
Don’t confuse politeness and respect with caring for others. Even KKK is polite to their womenfolk. They may have cared for others in some abstract way, like Bible tells them to care for others. But when it came to minorities, women, they very much did not care.
women were not denied education in l959, or employment, not all women were working, but females in the work force was increasing by large numbers,it was constantly growing, and so was available credit for
women, just like men, women needed collateral, and that took some time, and
so they gradually built that collateral and started going into business, and buying
property and houses, it was not 'black and white', life
was changing fast, and so were opportunities for women, Rome was not built in
a day. The 'they' you always talk about are really just people who are set in their
ways, and so was society, no one was mean to anyone, just were just used to certain ways,
but those ways were changing so fast, it could spin your head around, the world
was wide open to change, the wars were long over, and the energy in the country
was huge, the families with two working adults were making big money, they could
buy lots of things, build houses, etc.
But over the years government made sure that they sucked all of the money out of
the two working adults in the family, so that no mothers could afford to stay at
home any longer, everything cost too much, just as it does today. If I was getting
married tomorrow, I would be established at a work place, and I would have to
stay there, and when the children came along I would have had to ship them out
to a day care, which would eat up more of that second pay cheque. Yes the 'they'
you talk about have made sure 'both' partners have to work now, they sure don't
want anyone feeling too comfortable, with a nice bank account, no such thing for
young people any more, in fact more and more young people are moving back into
the parents home, so that they can afford higher education, or just afford to live
each month, and have a few bucks left in their pockets. Companies make sure they
don't give employees enough hours each week so that they have to give them
benefits, in many cases. Lots of people have to work 2 or 3 jobs to make enough
money to exist, I know some who do that.
And the idea that one can start in a company and work your way up and have
stability is lost and gone forever, don't expect that, be prepared to have many
jobs throughout your life.