I have a friend that I love dearly. She is interested in a lot of things Adam writes and ‘brogs’ about but as a single mother who works hard at home as well as the office, she really does not have time to do the research. But she is very well aware that something is wrong with this world and recently told me, "I wish we met in the 50's." I use to think that way, the 50's seem like such a smooth, easy ride. But what they do not tell you in any episode of happy days, is the level of racism and separation that existed.
I would also like to encourage her and others to not look/live backwards but to live in the moment and understand that everything that we are going through now is necessary so we can achieve that smooth easy ride that some of us would call the 1950's. I like to call it, The Golden Age.
A good example of the separation and division of the human race during the 50's would be the Cold War. Forget about the music, movies and fashion of the 50's for a moment. Those, like today, are just distractions from what was really going on. WWII had just ended and the UN was born. The alleged purpose of the UN was to prevent any need for another world war, that's what the public was told.
But while this massive and word wide 'peace keeping' government was being formed, the World was being divided behind the scenes and on TV and radio for all to see.
The United States, Britain, Canada, France, West Germany and the Philippines teamed up against The Soviet Union, China, Yugoslavia, Poland, and East Germany. The UN was formed to prevent war and bring the world together and already we have East vs. West. Not to mention the West Germany and East Germany or the Korean War witch technically never ended as no peace treaty was ever signed.
But they did manage to divide another country in two (North and South Korea). I'm not sure how the UN defines "peace" but it’s definitely different than mine. They were supposed to end war and what we got was more separation, more war and an arms race. I wonder how Richie Cunningham would react if he, Ralph and Potsie knew what was really going on. I know the Fonz would be pissed.
Religion also took off in the 50's. What divides greater than religion? In the 50's, 49% of Americans were affiliated with a religion and in 1954 president Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill that put "under God" into the pledge of allegiance, and in 1956 "in God we trust" was put on money. I do not have a problem with people choosing a religious path so long as it is based on faith and not fear of an angry God condemning you to Hell. Because if that's the case, you've been brainwashed and have no real faith to speak of.
But I do have a problem with government promoting religion or encouraging it in any way. I believe that a spiritual path should be paved based on what is in ones heart. I also believe in reincarnation. So in one life you may feel that what the Christians talk about resonates with you and you become a Christian. In another lifetime you may resonate with Hinduism. Maybe after enough lifetimes you may come to the conclusion that all religions have the same basic message, to LOVE and FORGIVE.
For me, its hard enough being myself and speaking my mind in the year 2011 without a bunch of religious people telling me I am going to burn in Hell. I can’t imagine what it would be like in the 1950's when government got involved and pretty much encouraged that type of behavior and division. I honestly don't think I could have survived it.
In the 1950's woman were spent most of their time in the kitchen and putting up with shit from angry husbands who were scared for life after fighting the bloodiest war in American history. A war that never needed to happen and that Big Banks funded and profited from both sides on... don't get me started. The average woman in the 50's was cut off from the outside world. They were taught by magazine and TV ads that they needed the latest kitchen gadget so they could better serve their husband and family in order to be happy.
Money had much more value in those days so a woman did not have to work if she did not want to. But even if she wanted to it was for very little money and was laughed at and not seen as an equal to a man in any way. If she was lucky enough to find work, she most likely needed the approval of her husband before she could take the job. Can you imagine a black woman looking for work? Forget about it. The first book that spoke about the frustration of the women of the 1950's did not come out until 1963.
It was written in the 50's but I would think the author might have had problems getting it published being a woman and all. The book is called "The Feminine Mystique" by Betty Friedan. All MEN are created equal, one large step for Mankind... no love or respect for the ones who give birth. Well we are living in the age of the masculine energy witch is a big reason why the world is so messed up. But the good news is that the feminine energies are fast approaching.
How come Richie, Potsie, Ralph and the Fonz never hung out with black dudes? What would Mr. Cunningham say if Jonie brought home an Asian man? If you were Irish or Italian you were not safe either. Anglo (English Americans) were privileged by law. Nobody had it worse than the black man/woman but nobody got a fair shake unless they were Anglo American, nobody. To this day the U.S. is known as the Anglo American Empire, around the world. The rest of us are just guests. We do all the work and they count all the money.
I believe that our bodies are just organic space suites for the human experience as we are spiritual beings having a human experience, not the other way around. To think about how painful it must have been back then to be legally hated and mistreated because of your body color. Unbelievable. I can barley deal with the level of ignorance in the world today so I'll say it again, I do not think I could have survived the 1950's.
When my friend said to me that she wished we had met in the 1950's, I understood what she meant. I love 50's love songs, so innocent, pure and genuine. But those were just songs and we still have that beautiful music today. We also have more women’s rights, more civil rights, less religious and sexual oppression and more freedom of expression.
We still have the wars and ignorance to deal with for a little while longer but that just means we have not learned all of the lessons we were being taught back then. I believe that life is full of lessons to be learned and that history always repeats itself until those lessons have been learned. I do not feel like it is wise to wish for the past to return. We need to learn from it so that it never repeats itself again. Learn from the past - live in the moment, and be the change you wish to see in the world. Only then can a Golden Age be achieved.
- Christopher Knight
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