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To Those That Grew Up In The Great Depression Then Lived Through WWII

rhinefire

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I just had a brief conversation with a person down in the dumps in general over everything to make it short. My folks grew up during The Great Depression and World War II. Both were very poor as were so many yet both had very positive outlooks on life. I recall asking b my dad what was it like to live with the world at war and he said simply, "we never contemplated defeat". As for the Depression remarkably his stories were mostly humorous like picking tar out of the street to chew as chewing gum! We owe it to ourselves and the children to pause and never forget what happened here in this country as we see incredible abundance of food and healthcare and prosperity. I still shake my head when I go to the grocery store and observe all the food knowing the same exists all over the entire country. We may not be where we
want to be but we are getting there and I hope it is appreciated and never taken for granted.
 
I've learned that lesson all too much in my life already - not realizing what I've got until it's gone. I'm very appreciative of my country and the freedoms it allows me to have. Nevertheless, it is important for people to not only yearn for progress but to check the power of the government, which we only can do when we're properly informed. It is important to maintain appropriate levels of patriotism, as too much is like being blind and none at all is like being a target for a drone.

Also, the feeling of gloom as a result from current day realities is well rooted in the seriousness of the problems plaguing us and the world. At any given moment life on Earth could be inexplicably changed, many such pitfalls we already know, like because of hackers messing around, the power grid is down or the same could come from a solar flare - point is, you could go to bed tonight, wake up tomorrow and the power grid is already down, decimated, be it from hacking, a solar flare or even terrorism. During the height of the Cold War, it was thermal nuclear warheads that was the thief in the middle of the night. The threat to humanity isn't as simple as it was fifty-hundred years ago. The nature of the game has changed. The truly unsettling part is the protections of the future. They're generally not very pleasant.
 
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I just had a brief conversation with a person down in the dumps in general over everything to make it short. My folks grew up during The Great Depression and World War II. Both were very poor as were so many yet both had very positive outlooks on life. I recall asking b my dad what was it like to live with the world at war and he said simply, "we never contemplated defeat". As for the Depression remarkably his stories were mostly humorous like picking tar out of the street to chew as chewing gum! We owe it to ourselves and the children to pause and never forget what happened here in this country as we see incredible abundance of food and healthcare and prosperity. I still shake my head when I go to the grocery store and observe all the food knowing the same exists all over the entire country. We may not be where we
want to be but we are getting there and I hope it is appreciated and never taken for granted.

Somehow this fits:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1wg1DNHbNU
 
I just had a brief conversation with a person down in the dumps in general over everything to make it short. My folks grew up during The Great Depression and World War II. Both were very poor as were so many yet both had very positive outlooks on life. I recall asking b my dad what was it like to live with the world at war and he said simply, "we never contemplated defeat". As for the Depression remarkably his stories were mostly humorous like
picking tar out of the street to chew as chewing gum!
We owe it to ourselves and the children to pause and never forget what happened here in this country as we see incredible abundance of food and healthcare and prosperity. I still shake my head when I go to the grocery store and observe all the food knowing the same exists all over the entire country. We may not be where we
want to be but we are getting there and I hope it is appreciated and never taken for granted.



I was born in 1943 and I never heard of that, we did get ice from the ice-man to chew on in the summer-time.
 
I grew up dirt poor and didn't get my first pair of brand new shoes until I was 11 years old. Most of the reason why was because I grew up in a socialist-communist country where people were satisfied to live on handouts from the government AKA the reservation. Since then I worked hard and prospered and am now what many would consider wealthy. Capitalism works.
 
I grew up dirt poor and didn't get my first pair of brand new shoes until I was 11 years old. Most of the reason why was because I grew up in a socialist-communist country where people were satisfied to live on handouts from the government AKA the reservation. Since then I worked hard and prospered and am now what many would consider wealthy. Capitalism works.

Economic opportunities work. Hard work in the right trade has the tendency to come with satisfying monetary reward.
 
And capitalism is where economic opportunity flourishes

Yeah - make as much money as humanly possibly before I die. But perhaps it is not all it was intended to be as a capitalist government does enjoy the tax money it gets perhaps a tad bit too much. Having some money is better than not having any but having money scalped off the top in unrepresented taxes leaves a person feeling like they've been robbed because they can't help it they were born wherever they popped out.
 
And capitalism is where economic opportunity flourishes

Depends on what kind of capitalism you're talking about.

Our current brand of capitalism allows opportunity to flourish in the developing world where people are treated about as well as mules and it allows opportunity to flourish for the ultra wealthy and multinational corporations, and of course here and there lower class and middle class Americans are able to pick up some scraps (either through sheer, dumb luck, political connections, or outright merit).

But it sure as shootin' isn't the kind of capitalism, with attendant opportunity, that Robert Smith wrote about and America practiced for the majority of her history.

I'd be curious to know how old you are and when you began to accumulate your wealth.

The opportunities that were present in America even a few decades ago allowing people to head down that path aren't the same opportunities that (don't) exist today.
 
Depends on what kind of capitalism you're talking about.

Our current brand of capitalism allows opportunity to flourish in the developing world where people are treated about as well as mules and it allows opportunity to flourish for the ultra wealthy and multinational corporations, and of course here and there lower class and middle class Americans are able to pick up some scraps (either through sheer, dumb luck, political connections, or outright merit).

But it sure as shootin' isn't the kind of capitalism, with attendant opportunity, that Robert Smith wrote about and America practiced for the majority of her history.

I'd be curious to know how old you are and when you began to accumulate your wealth.

The opportunities that were present in America even a few decades ago allowing people to head down that path aren't the same opportunities that (don't) exist today.
I'm near 60 and accumulated my wealth by purchasing cheap and remote land nobody else wanted every time I got a few extra bucks. I ran cattle for what little money I made but lived frugally some might even say miserly. In the real estate boom some of my worthless land suddenly became very valuable for developers that wanted beautiful land with great views to build homes on and I made out well. This could still be done today.
 
I'm near 60 and accumulated my wealth by purchasing cheap and remote land nobody else wanted every time I got a few extra bucks. I ran cattle for what little money I made but lived frugally some might even say miserly. In the real estate boom some of my worthless land suddenly became very valuable for developers that wanted beautiful land with great views to build homes on and I made out well. This could still be done today.

Sure it could.

And I'm sure a couple of enterprising people will make it happen.

I'm not arguing that there is NO opportunity, period (I'm 40 and I'm making a very nice life for myself).

I'm arguing that the opportunity that is available isn't sufficient to provide a way "out" for the estimated 40 million Americans who are unemployed or underemployed or to allow a way up for future generations.

We shipped the kind of volume of opportunity that we need to address that big of a problem to China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico, and other various points around the world.

In other words, the same volume of opportunity exists in the world as existed 50 years ago, but whereas it used to be concentrated in the Western world such that we had a de facto monopoly on that opportunity we've since diluted it by flattening the global economy.
 
Sure it could.

And I'm sure a couple of enterprising people will make it happen.

I'm not arguing that there is NO opportunity, period (I'm 40 and I'm making a very nice life for myself).

I'm arguing that the opportunity that is available isn't sufficient to provide a way "out" for the estimated 40 million Americans who are unemployed or underemployed or to allow a way up for future generations.

We shipped the kind of volume of opportunity that we need to address that big of a problem to China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico, and other various points around the world.

In other words, the same volume of opportunity exists in the world as existed 50 years ago, but whereas it used to be concentrated in the Western world such that we had a de facto monopoly on that opportunity we've since diluted it by flattening the global economy.

Now you guys all knew i was going to post. I was born at the beginning of that great depression, but luckily, I lived on a farm, and never ran into the problems that the majority had to experience, Then war came, and I lost my brother and two cousins

All in all, I have learned that money is not the most important thing in the world, I have invented a few things but when I learned they worked, I lost interest in them, That may seem strange, but I am comfortable, at something like $17 Grand a year, over poverty level, and I am still able to help out my fellow humans from time to time. So I feel satisfied , ---for me. But I am damned worried about what is to happen to my Grand and Great Grand kids, and what the politicos have done to this country.
 
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Sure it could.

And I'm sure a couple of enterprising people will make it happen.

I'm not arguing that there is NO opportunity, period (I'm 40 and I'm making a very nice life for myself).

I'm arguing that the opportunity that is available isn't sufficient to provide a way "out" for the estimated 40 million Americans who are unemployed or underemployed or to allow a way up for future generations.

We shipped the kind of volume of opportunity that we need to address that big of a problem to China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico, and other various points around the world.

In other words, the same volume of opportunity exists in the world as existed 50 years ago, but whereas it used to be concentrated in the Western world such that we had a de facto monopoly on that opportunity we've since diluted it by flattening the global economy.

I don't see it as simply about outsourcing, but technology is obsoleting many lines of work. Sure, the villains at goldman sachs created a crisis, but in the long term, what will be really difficult to overcome for those 40 million is what few skills they have, yes even in the service industry, will be largely automated.
 
I don't see it as simply about outsourcing, but technology is obsoleting many lines of work. Sure, the villains at goldman sachs created a crisis, but in the long term, what will be really difficult to overcome for those 40 million is what few skills they have, yes even in the service industry, will be largely automated.

Good point.
 
One should always be appreciative, generally speaking, but you should also check your facts before generalizing your prosperity and chalking discontent up to chronic pessimism or a sense of entitlement. In fact, you don't know, when you go to your cornucopian grocery store, that the same exists all over the entire country...because it doesn't. There are millions of Americans (I'm not sure why the Great Depression is being framed in national terms, when it was a global capitalist event, but I'll roll with it) without access to grocery stores, and indeed millions of undernourished Americans (to say nothing of the millions more who appreciate all the food they see a little too much, and literally eat themselves to death).
 
I just had a brief conversation with a person down in the dumps in general over everything to make it short. My folks grew up during The Great Depression and World War II. Both were very poor as were so many yet both had very positive outlooks on life. I recall asking b my dad what was it like to live with the world at war and he said simply, "we never contemplated defeat". As for the Depression remarkably his stories were mostly humorous like picking tar out of the street to chew as chewing gum! We owe it to ourselves and the children to pause and never forget what happened here in this country as we see incredible abundance of food and healthcare and prosperity. I still shake my head when I go to the grocery store and observe all the food knowing the same exists all over the entire country. We may not be where we
want to be but we are getting there and I hope it is appreciated and never taken for granted.

Everybody I have ever talked to who lived in that era said they were poor anyway so the depression never affected them much. They were more affected by rationing during WWII.

Access to all that food you see in your grocery store effectively does not exist for far too many people even today. Unfortunately because Michelle Obama is the one who tries to give voice to this issue, far too many people IMO ignore it in favor of spewing hate at the First Lady and her husband instead of discussing it sensibly.

food-deserts.jpg

USDA Defines Food Deserts | American Nutrition Association
 
The single greatest sin in my own eyes is wasting food. I frequent a very successful Asian buffet and walking to and from the buffet I often see way too much food left over at abandoned tables. Murder is a crime but is it more of a crime to throw away food as others starve to death? All countries have people starving. I have trouble seeing the food for animals that is available in the U.S. Dog food is as healthy as our food and in some cases more expensive. Look at restaurants and grocery stores behind their buildings and you will see tons of food thrown out every day. Young folks growing up in such an environment of plenty are understandably puzzled by the concept of starvation.
 
Everybody I have ever talked to who lived in that era said they were poor anyway so the depression never affected them much. They were more affected by rationing during WWII.

Access to all that food you see in your grocery store effectively does not exist for far too many people even today. Unfortunately because Michelle Obama is the one who tries to give voice to this issue, far too many people IMO ignore it in favor of spewing hate at the First Lady and her husband instead of discussing it sensibly.

View attachment 67176179

USDA Defines Food Deserts | American Nutrition Association

This sounds suspiciously like the voter ID argument.

You do know people have other choices in transportation?
 
This sounds suspiciously like the voter ID argument.

You do know people have other choices in transportation?

Yes, just as they have other choices of things to put in their mouth, like the aforementioned road tar. The person who printed that map presumably expected us to understand that some choices are better than others. Evidently, he was at least partially mistaken in that seemingly reasonable expectation.
 
Yes, just as they have other choices of things to put in their mouth, like the aforementioned road tar. The person who printed that map presumably expected us to understand that some choices are better than others. Evidently, he was at least partially mistaken in that seemingly reasonable expectation.

I'll be the first to admit that there are parts of this country where it's tough to get a decent salad in a restaurant or at the local market. It has a lot to do with logistics and local availability.
 
This sounds suspiciously like the voter ID argument.

You do know people have other choices in transportation?

Some do, some don't. I don't care that much one way or the other over voter ID. I suspect voter ID hurts the GOP more than the DNC in most places other than maybe Florida because of retirees being less likely to have ID/transportation.

As for food deserts, it would be more difficult for a senior citizen or a mom with kids to be hoofing it a couple miles at least to carry food. I used to see an old woman do it a few times a week in her electric wheelchair. If the weather was particularly bad like rain or snow or it looked like her charge was running out, I would stop to give her a ride as I usually caught her on her return from the shopping center with her little plastic bag of groceries. One of the problems in certain areas that even if there is food in the convenience store/bodegas nearby, there usually isn't much in the way of fresh fruits/vegetables for the people. Man cannot live off sardines and pimento cheese sandwiches indefinitely and be healthy.
 
Some do, some don't. I don't care that much one way or the other over voter ID. I suspect voter ID hurts the GOP more than the DNC in most places other than maybe Florida because of retirees being less likely to have ID/transportation.

As for food deserts, it would be more difficult for a senior citizen or a mom with kids to be hoofing it a couple miles at least to carry food. I used to see an old woman do it a few times a week in her electric wheelchair. If the weather was particularly bad like rain or snow or it looked like her charge was running out, I would stop to give her a ride as I usually caught her on her return from the shopping center with her little plastic bag of groceries. One of the problems in certain areas that even if there is food in the convenience store/bodegas nearby, there usually isn't much in the way of fresh fruits/vegetables for the people. Man cannot live off sardines and pimento cheese sandwiches indefinitely and be healthy.

Here in the Austin area, transportation is provided for those who need it. Beside vans who take the handicapped and elderly people where they need to go, there's other public transportation like the commuter rail and buses. There are also several organizations that bring meals/groceries or other services directly to the home.

These services are also available in most rural areas around Texas.
 
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