• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

If someone from the 1950s were to suddenly appear in 2017...

In political terms:

I think they would be appalled by our general lack of coming together for our mutual benefit, including the divisiveness & derisiveness of the two parties and our leadership. They may have too well understood separation by race, but they just emerged from the massively singular project of WWII calling the country together. Italian-Americans from Brooklyn fought side-by-side in the same foxholes as the Okie farmboys, dependent upon each other to function as a team to stay alive. Same as the native Texans and Polish-American kids from Chicago, etc., etc.

In general terms:

They'd be blown away and mystified by technology. All of it! To the point of utter amazement!

I also think they'd also find it interesting to see women and people of color throughout all segments of society, government, and positions of power. How they'd react to this would of course stem from their personal POV. Not all would react well, unfortunately. And I suspect a substantial majority would be negatively taken back by the cultural and societal revolution in same-sex relationships and transgenderism, but that's just a guess on my part.
 
i believe they would be blown away to learn that china is now the world's dominant economic power
 
AlbqOwl said:
How about those of us who lived in the 1950's? :)

Personally I would think the most difficult thing to explain to them would be progressivism and its power to disrupt, destroy, and control lives. The 1950's was still heavily populated with the WWII generation who were our community, state, and national leaders and who didn't see anything that America could not accomplish if we put our mind and hearts into it. But progressivism/statism/leftism/political class were still alien to our culture and what most people considered acceptable. I think it would horrify them.
Click to expand...
But I think you'd have to be careful of the use of "statism".

In terms of statist governance like Communism or Fascism, I'd agree.

But in terms of personal alignment to society, or to individual, that group nearly fully falls on identifying with society and the American government. These guys were societal joiners and conformers! They came together to win the war, then got home and built the interstate highways to tie us together. Before they were done, the came together to heed JFK's call to go to the moon along with LBJ's call to end poverty - and they did!

So these guys were proud and supportive of their government, and stood behind it. Much moreso than now.

(and they were appalled when their kids rebelled against the government, not being willing to put their lives on the line during Viet Nam.)
 
Threegoofs said:
Innocently???

I guess you've never heard of the labor unrest in the US from about 1880 until the 30s. Lots of deaths, lots of panicked Conservatives and wealthy calling out the National Guard.

Odd, since most people with solid history education understand it was one of the turning points of US history.
Click to expand...

You are seeing things through the spectrum of a few pockets of unrest or discontent and not through the big picture lens that I see the 1950's. The vast majority of Americans were not involved in any of that. But history would be pretty boring to modern day people if it reported on how the vast majority lived their everyday lives.
 
Chomsky said:
But I think you'd have to be careful of the use of "statism".

In terms of statist governance like Communism or Fascism, I'd agree.

But in terms of personal alignment to society, or to individual, that group nearly fully falls on identifying with society and the American government. These guys were societal joiners and conformers! They came together to win the war, then got home and built the interstate highways to tie us together. Before they were done, the came together to heed JFK's call to go to the moon along with LBJ's call to end poverty - and they did!

So these guys were proud and supportive of their government, and stood behind it. Much moreso than now.

(and they were appalled when their kids rebelled against the government, not being willing to put their lives on the line during Viet Nam.)
Click to expand...

Yes, but in those days we had far more public servants responsive to be representatives of their constituencies and not professional politicians, members of a permanent political class who see their positions as little kingdoms. They are obligated to throw the people a bone now and then but their primary goal is to stay in office where they increase their personal wealth, prestige, influence, and power. The government was in no way as intrusive or authoritarian as what is now now. And it is an unresponsive and authoritarian ever more invasive government that provided a vote ready to elect a Donald Trump. He would have fit in pretty well with the people of the 1950's.
 
AlbqOwl said:
You are seeing things through the spectrum of a few pockets of unrest or discontent and not through the big picture lens that I see the 1950's. The vast majority of Americans were not involved in any of that. But history would be pretty boring to modern day people if it reported on how the vast majority lived their everyday lives.
Click to expand...

Wow. A multidecadal labor fight and your strong historical education tells you 'the vast majority of Americans were not involved'.

I guess the eight hour day and five day work week and child labor laws just kinda appeared due to 'common sense'....

And I'm pretty sure the vast majority of Americans are enjoying two day weekends, even today.
 
Threegoofs said:
Wow. A multidecadal labor fight and your strong historical education tells you 'the vast majority of Americans were not involved'.

I guess the eight hour day and five day work week and child labor laws just kinda appeared due to 'common sense'....

And I'm pretty sure the vast majority of Americans are enjoying two day weekends, even today.
Click to expand...

I see you are missing the point altogether and I don't want to get into one of these moving target discussions so I'll just wish you a good afternoon and pleasant evening.
 
justabubba said:
3. point out that much of the world's knowledge is now accessible to anyone with a smart phone
Click to expand...

3.A and it' s used to share pictures of cats and meals.
 
If someone from the 1950s were to suddenly appear in 2017...
Click to expand...

i'd trade them a Nintendo game boy for their '55 Chevy and then distract them with reality television in HD as i drove off into the sunset.
 
radcen said:
If someone from the 1950s were to suddenly appear in 2017...

...what do you think would be the most difficult thing to explain to them?
Click to expand...

I grew up in the 50's. So I don't need to suddenly appear today. :lol:

To answer your question, would like it explained why so many younger people today have this "entitlement" view of things, why some neighbors don't help neighbors like they use to do, why the "me first" mentality came about, why the push for so much reliance on govt assistance, and why does Pelosi keep getting elected?
 
If they were a southerner, they would not like the civil rights act.

If he came from Michigan, Ohio, or any other rust belt state, he would greatly resent how much those states declined.

Other 50s americans would also resent gay marriage, Lawrence v. Texas (no more anti sodomy laws), legalization of weed, an extra department just for preventing terrorism, the amount of tolerance towards illegal immigration, pornography, swearing in movies, violence in movies, the amount of opposition towards hate speech and racism, and the fact that we are not living in space colonies right now.

They would be shocked at the progress in computing, the end of the cold war, the internet, the fact that 19 people without any help from a foreign government were able to cause damage to the Pentagon and the collapse of two highrises, and that Americans are so worried about nationless groups (aka terrorists).
 
Helix said:
i'd trade them a Nintendo game boy for their '55 Chevy and then distract them with reality television in HD as i drove off into the sunset.
Click to expand...

Make it the iconic '57 Chevy and I'm on board.
 
The combination of Donald Trump's hair and facial makeup?
 
Masterhawk said:
If they were a southerner, they would not like the civil rights act.

If he came from Michigan, Ohio, or any other rust belt state, he would greatly resent how much those states declined.

Other 50s americans would also resent gay marriage, Lawrence v. Texas (no more anti sodomy laws), legalization of weed, an extra department just for preventing terrorism, the amount of tolerance towards illegal immigration, pornography, swearing in movies, violence in movies, the amount of opposition towards hate speech and racism, and the fact that we are not living in space colonies right now.

They would be shocked at the progress in computing, the end of the cold war, the internet, the fact that 19 people without any help from a foreign government were able to cause damage to the Pentagon and the collapse of two highrises, and that Americans are so worried about nationless groups (aka terrorists).
Click to expand...

School kids in the 50's were doing duck and cover drills because we were in the nuclear age and the cold war was considered very real. They knew what an atomic bomb could do. And many of us in the south were practicing civil rights long before the act passed. Illegal immigration wasn't a problem because there were no social services, so the migrant workers came in for the harvests and went home with the money they made and it was a win win situation for all. As for some of the old archaic laws, most of those had been repealed or had been ignored for some time long before any of them became an issue.
 
radcen said:
If someone from the 1950s were to suddenly appear in 2017...

...what do you think would be the most difficult thing to explain to them?
Click to expand...

Nothing important really.
Maybe the various internet culture things, but nothing involving modern technology and such.
It's all fairly related to things in the 1950s.
 
radcen said:
If someone from the 1950s were to suddenly appear in 2017...

...what do you think would be the most difficult thing to explain to them?
Click to expand...

That the Cubs won a world series...
 
AlbqOwl said:
You can praises progressivism for ending segregation if you want to. I lived that era and I know how it really went down in most places that were nothing like the few hotbeds of violence that kids are now taught and think that's all there was. My little redneck ultra conservative town for instance desegregated long before there was any government mandate to do so and it happened without a single demonstration or angry word. That was happening all over the country. If the government had stayed out of it, segregation would have ended due to the steady pressure of Christians and others who were pushing for that to happen. And it would have happened without the riots and anger and violence that persist to this day and that has prevented a color blind society in which all see themselves as equals.
Click to expand...


You got to be kidding me as I watched with my very own eyes by way of a black and white tv set, the need to used federal troops with bayonets fixed on their rifles to allow young black children to go to a former all white school.
 
BillRM said:
You got to be kidding me as I watched with my very own eyes by way of a black and white tv set, the need to used federal troops with bayonets fixed on their rifles to allow young black children to go to a former all white school.
Click to expand...

I saw the same. And I also witnessed first hand, up close and personal, how it was in the the vast majority of schools that integrated voluntarily or under court order with no hostilities of any kind and without any kind of incidents. The few incidents where there was resistance of course dominated the news then as they do now while all the ordinary everyday life transitions get almost no publicity at all.
 
AlbqOwl said:
School kids in the 50's were doing duck and cover drills because we were in the nuclear age and the cold war was considered very real. They knew what an atomic bomb could do. And many of us in the south were practicing civil rights long before the act passed. Illegal immigration wasn't a problem because there were no social services, so the migrant workers came in for the harvests and went home with the money they made and it was a win win situation for all. As for some of the old archaic laws, most of those had been repealed or had been ignored for some time long before any of them became an issue.
Click to expand...
I grew up in an ag area in California, and I remember that.
 
AlbqOwl said:
I saw the same. And I also witnessed first hand, up close and personal, how it was in the the vast majority of schools that integrated voluntarily or under court order with no hostilities of any kind and without any kind of incidents. The few incidents where there was resistance of course dominated the news then as they do now while all the ordinary everyday life transitions get almost no publicity at all.
Click to expand...

Sure some schools did not resist and others also walk away from their public school completely setting up so call and I do mean so call private schools systems through out the south.

An of course knowing that the federal government would used whatever level of force needed have nothing to do with some southern school districts not resisting the courts orders or at least not doing so in an open manner.
 
AlbqOwl said:
School kids in the 50's were doing duck and cover drills because we were in the nuclear age and the cold war was considered very real. They knew what an atomic bomb could do. And many of us in the south were practicing civil rights long before the act passed. Illegal immigration wasn't a problem because there were no social services, so the migrant workers came in for the harvests and went home with the money they made and it was a win win situation for all. As for some of the old archaic laws, most of those had been repealed or had been ignored for some time long before any of them became an issue.
Click to expand...

Businesses did not wish legal workers of any type for those seasonal needs as they would then need to paid them minimum wages along with minimum living conditions and also have some small regards to workers safety. Must better IE cheaper to use those without any rights at all.

Those guest workers programs was killed due to lack of interest on the part of the employers not the foreign employees and at no point where those workers legal or not legal rolling in social benefits programs.

Alternate reality seems once more to apply.
 
Threegoofs said:
Innocently???

I guess you've never heard of the labor unrest in the US from about 1880 until the 30s. Lots of deaths, lots of panicked Conservatives and wealthy calling out the National Guard.

Odd, since most people with solid history education understand it was one of the turning points of US history.
Click to expand...

Hell striking workers in the 1920s to 30s trying to gain a union at Ford was being gun down as in sub machine gun down at plants and the only Henry Ford wife threatening him with a divorce if he did not settle with his workers stop the killings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Hunger_March

The Ford Hunger March, sometimes called the Ford Massacre, was a demonstration of unemployed workers starting in Detroit and ending in Dearborn, Michigan, that took place on March 7, 1932. The march resulted in four workers being shot to death by the Dearborn Police Department and security guards employed by the Ford Motor Company. Over 60 workers were injured, many by gunshot wounds. Three months later, a fifth worker died of his injuries. The march was organized by the Unemployed Councils. The Ford Hunger March was an important part of a chain of events that eventually led to the unionization of the U.S. auto industry.
Click to expand...
 
Hawkeye10 said:
The vast willful ignorance, bordering on mass mental illness, compounded by massive intake of brain chemistry altering drugs.
Click to expand...

That people who talk like this aren't actually more common, it's just that the internet makes them more vocal.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom