I enjoy the Breaking Points channel.
At 4:05 they speak of 1976 as a difficult time for the US.
Here is why I disagree:
In 1976, Moms and Dads were in charge of families. You and your friends had 3 or 4 siblings and maybe a stay at home Mom.
A dollar was worth more then.
The first moon landing was still not that far in the past.
Some still worked a 40 hour week.
The WWII generation was still very much a part of what went on. Take a look at Hollywood celebrities of the time.
Take a look at small business owners.
The Thanks for Your Service phrase was not yet in style. The decades of undeclared/unwon wars that came after the lessons of Vietnam would make the phrase commonplace.
More products were made in the US. Cool, US made cars were still on the road.
We were in a period of Cold War Era peacetime stability. The US Armed Forces were on the back burner-right where they are supposed to be.
Politics was less toxic. Whatever US President was elected, your life still went on.
A gallon of gas was more affordable and it was less likely to destroy a small engine.
People fixed and repaired home related items. Remember TV repair shops?
The hardware store was not Home Depot.
The small delis and bakeries that came before Subway were up and running.
More of a law and order way of life was in place. The cartel drug situation may have been better without a giant and expensive US Dept. of Homeland Security in place.
No special ID was required to go have lunch in Canada.
No federal prohibition of alcohol and tobacco for adults age 18-20.
Still no such thing the day I graduated from high school.
That was before decades of military operations for your freedoms.
Bicycle paper routes for kids were not seen as unsafe or controversial. Halloween was similar at the time.
Kids were more physically fit.
Ads for meds on TV had less in the way of gruesome side effects.
People were less haunted by healthcare payment concerns.
People were less haunted by student loans.
People worked minimum wage jobs as entry level teens. They earned their promotions up and away from minimum wage as they put in their time and took on more responsibility.
Gun violence seemed to happen less often. For sure this was true in the Seattle area.
Less homelessness back then.
Newspeople seemed to be more about asking questions.
Radio stations and personalities seemed to be of better quality. Much of what we have now seems automated.
Reality TV was The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau.
Feeling The Energy – USA 250
Back home:
Several years back, I started the Old Man Blog category. It involves thoughts on changes in American culture relating to those born roughly in the late 50s & early 60s.
Original Old Man Blog here: https://oldmanblogdotcom.wordpress.com
New updates here: https://oakbaystarfish.com/category/old-man-blog/
Above created and originally posted by another person, years ago.