We got along well with black Americans. They were part of even lower middle class white households. In those days labor saving machines were unknown. Clothes were washed by hand and hung on clothes lines to dry. Meals were cooked from scratch with real ingredients. If mother was not present, Carrie was the boss, not us “white privileged.” Carrie dined with us at the table, and if Carrie encountered a financial problem she couldn’t handle, my parents and her other day employers would pool our scant resources to help her.
I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, with no fear or hatred of black Americans. This is no longer the case in Atlanta. Many white Atlantans are fleeing the city.
It is not only the relations between the races that have deteriorated. Everything has. America today bears no relationship to the American world that I grew up in. Of course, today the reply will be that I grew up in “white privilege.” But actually, I grew up in a community in which people and genders had different roles, and a person was judged by performance. Performance included moral behavior. If you were a moral person who did a good job and your word was true, you were respected. Period.
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What I find most discouraging about America is that after all the proven deceptions Americans have endured—Americans continue to sit in front of CNN and the rest, listen to NPR, and read the New York Times or Washington Post and, thereby, continue to accommodate the ruling Establishment by consenting to being brainwashed. A people this insouciant has no possbility of survival.
A bainwashed America, a brainwashed Western World, are not homes for freedom.
I grew up in halcyon days. In those days a person did not have to be brilliant or have ruling class connections in order to succeed. This fact seperated America from the rest of the world in popular opinion. Americans lived in a land of opportunity. And it was true, not make believe.
In Atlanta, Georgia, 5-year olds could walk alone or with neighborhood classmates a mile to school and a mile to home without being molested or kidnapped. Boys could have fights on the playground without being arrested. Parents together with teachers dealt with problems, which were few. Teachers were outstanding. There was no such thing as education degrees. Teachers had degrees in English or other languages, mathematics, chemistry, physics, history. They were people who loved their subjects and conveyed that to students.
Misbehavior, which was rare, was dealt with a note home that had to be signed by a parent and returned the next day. The last thing any of us wanted was a note home. There was no CPS we could call to complain of being punished for our misdeeds.
<<<
We got along well with black Americans. They were part of even lower middle class white households. In those days labor saving machines were unknown. Clothes were washed by hand and hung on clothes lines to dry. Meals were cooked from scratch with real ingredients. If mother was not present, Carrie was the boss, not us “white privileged.” Carrie dined with us at the table, and if Carrie encountered a financial problem she couldn’t handle, my parents and her other day employers would pool our scant resources to help her.
I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, with no fear or hatred of black Americans. This is no longer the case in Atlanta. Many white Atlantans are fleeing the city.
It is not only the relations between the races that have deteriorated. Everything has. America today bears no relationship to the American world that I grew up in. Of course, today the reply will be that I grew up in “white privilege.” But actually, I grew up in a community in which people and genders had different roles, and a person was judged by performance. Performance included moral behavior. If you were a moral person who did a good job and your word was true, you were respected. Period. <<<
What I find most discouraging about America is that after all the proven deceptions Americans have endured—Americans continue to sit in front of CNN and the rest, listen to NPR, and read the New York Times or Washington Post and, thereby, continue to accommodate the ruling Establishment by consenting to being brainwashed. A people this insouciant has no possbility of survival.
A bainwashed America, a brainwashed Western World, are not homes for freedom.
I grew up in halcyon days. In those days a person did not have to be brilliant or have ruling class connections in order to succeed. This fact seperated America from the rest of the world in popular opinion. Americans lived in a land of opportunity. And it was true, not make believe.
In Atlanta, Georgia, 5-year olds could walk alone or with neighborhood classmates a mile to school and a mile to home without being molested or kidnapped. Boys could have fights on the playground without being arrested. Parents together with teachers dealt with problems, which were few. Teachers were outstanding. There was no such thing as education degrees. Teachers had degrees in English or other languages, mathematics, chemistry, physics, history. They were people who loved their subjects and conveyed that to students.
Misbehavior, which was rare, was dealt with a note home that had to be signed by a parent and returned the next day. The last thing any of us wanted was a note home. There was no CPS we could call to complain of being punished for our misdeeds. <<<
I agree
For sure.
Yup, we're fucked now.
Yup.