I got this email this morning and since I remember schools in 1965, when I started first grade, functioning very much the way they did in 1957, I figured some of you other "old farts" would remember it, too.

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"

This is one of the more persistent "good old days" tracts...

How 'bout

2007
Johnny and Billy go to school together.
1957
Johnny goes to a good school, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus called out his state's National Guard to make sure that Billy can't go to Johnny's school.

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"Jesus said: I have cast fire upon the world, and behold I guard it until it is ablaze."
Gospel of Thomas

Does this imply you believe the current state is preferable?

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In case you were wondering, yes, there really ARE more idiots these days....technology has made natural selection obsolete.

Yes, actually. Given the option of going back 50 years to live in this country?

Hell no.

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"Jesus said: I have cast fire upon the world, and behold I guard it until it is ablaze."
Gospel of Thomas

Wow - well at least you're honest.

I dont even know how to respond to that.

You may well be the first person I've ever met who actually PREFERS to live in a police state.

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In case you were wondering, yes, there really ARE more idiots these days....technology has made natural selection obsolete.

Well, for one thing, I can't be legally discriminated against.

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"Jesus said: I have cast fire upon the world, and behold I guard it until it is ablaze."
Gospel of Thomas

I didn't mean to imply that every aspect was grand but to deny that of some things done in 1957 were actually better than today would be wrong, too. At least when I was in school, I never once thought there was a chance someone would come in and shoot everyone. I knew that if I got in trouble in school, mom and dad wouldn't coddle me and say that the teacher was wrong. A playground fight was just a playground fight. Most of us weren't raised as fat, spoiled little couch potatoes either...there was no Nintindo, cable television, etc....we played outside from sunup to sundown, something today's youth doesn't do. I could go on and on but you can get the gist of it. I would love if we could have kept the positive things from the past as we moved forward.

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"

I find the second one pretty disturbing. As many kids and I knew that ended up in a fight because they where victims of a bully and then ended up seriously injured in it I think that the idea that just letting fish fights happen is pretty damn barbaric, bad for kids, sends a message that violence solves problems, and puts kids in danger of being seriously injured or even worse.

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"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

I would prefer to take the good from both times.

From the 60's...
Family orientated
Higher personal responsibility
Appreciation for and have concern for community
Living within means
Time to spend on above things

From now......
technology
advanced medicine
tremendous progress in race relations
attention to education

NOT from the "good ol days"...
racism
sexism

NOT from today....
amorality
family deterioration
selfishness
sheep mentality
lack of community concern

I am sure there are more examples from each category

Sure you can - BELIEVE me you can.

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In case you were wondering, yes, there really ARE more idiots these days....technology has made natural selection obsolete.

uhm, how old are you partofme? if I may ask? if you don't wish to answer its cool...

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No individual can plan his own existence in their view.

So the state planners must arrogate to themselves the right to manipulate any sector of the economic system if the good of “society” or the “general welfare” is paramount.

Ipso- if the rights of the individual get in the way, the rights of the individual must be sublimated.

The Road to Serfdom
FA Hayek (interpretation)


Mortgage Backed Security survivor

the biggest for me? I wasn't told MY shit stools were special and taught that I was all that counted and that it all was about ME, what I saw as important and how MY needs needed to be addressed....and what MY wants where and why they came first….and how everything was unfair if it didn’t go MY way….and how I was special even though I was barely hacking it....or that I neeeded more time to test because, I would not sit MY ass down in a chair and concentrate...

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No individual can plan his own existence in their view.

So the state planners must arrogate to themselves the right to manipulate any sector of the economic system if the good of “society” or the “general welfare” is paramount.

Ipso- if the rights of the individual get in the way, the rights of the individual must be sublimated.

The Road to Serfdom
FA Hayek (interpretation)


Mortgage Backed Security survivor

When my son was growing up and he and his cousin (three months older) had an argument that ended up in a fight, I didn't rush out to stop it unless there was blood because it's a normal thing for kids, especially boys. They learned how to solve their differences at an early age, developed a respect for each other and as they got older, they realized that they didn't have to resort to fist fights to solve the problems.

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"

Yep, definitely some good examples. (But I would limit the time that kids played on computers and nintendos! They need to develop an imagination...something very lacking in today's kids.)

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"

I think children need to physically fight. I got into a few scrape when I was younger and it never did any lasting damage. One of them is now my best friend. I certainly don't think that violence solves every problem.