Was life better 100 years ago?

[lk70]

We have air conditioning, heat, electricity, tv, phones, malls, lots of different kinds of food that you can eat instantly. We have medical miracles that allow lives to be saved.

100 years ago we didn't have any of those things. Do those things make life better or do those things disconnect us? 100 years ago, was life better because we connected more to other people in a personal way? Because families spent more time together- in a sleigh, over the river and through the woods to grandma's house?

Which is better- technology or togetherness?

 

[MrMacphisto]

Given that 100 years ago, the standard of living in America was much lower, fatal epidemics were common, and that women didn't even have the right to vote yet, I'd say today is much better. You'd probably have a stronger argument in favor of togetherness if you said 50 years ago, instead of 100.

 

[TKpervert]

I'm friends with a married couple who have a 15 year old son.
He's bright, but yet is a total loser.
Had he been raised 50 years ago, he'd be a winner.

So, to answer your question Ik70, technology has disconnected this kid.

 

[lightninbug]

I love questions like this!!!

100 yrs. ago...1905

* The AMERICAN EMPIRE was Born After the Spanish - American War.
*Wm Randoff Hearst's (an earlier Version of Bill O'Reilly) Papers were ALL Over the Place
*Women were trying an experiment in having to fight getting the Vote & the right to their own bodies...and property rights as well.
*Butch Cassidy & Sundance hadn't left for Bolivia yet, let alone been shot.
*Negroes were being lynched w/out very many people saying anything about it.
*Arizona, New Mexico & Utah weren't even States yet.
*Geronimao was Still Alive.
*The TITANIC was just begining to be built.
* Polio, Measles, Strep, Influensa was Killing Kids
* Inner Cities REALLY SUCKED!!
* Racism & Jingoism were not only rampant; they were the norm!



* America was RESPECTED as we were Starting to Flex Our Muscles.
* Teddy Roosevelt was in the White House.
* A sense of National Conservation was Taking Root (sponsored by the Pres.)
* The National Parks were being set aside.
* Train Travel was King.
* There WAS NO FOREIGN OIL.
* World Communism was still a gleam in Lenin's eye.
* World War was only in the mind of H.G.Wells.
* People knew their neighbors.
* Natural products & Ingredients were the norm; FOOD was made w/ this stuff.
* Food, Air, Water was SAFE to Eat Breathe & DRINK.
* Farmers still used Horses
* The Whiskey , Bourbon etc. was Untainted by Prohibition.
* Every Municipality Had It's Own Brewrey
* Large Scale Agriculture was unheard of...every small farmer grew what they could eat & sell.
* Life Moved a little slower & We were a little More aware of our surroundings.
* More often than not, One Wage earner per household just about covered the Bills.
* Organized Crime wasn't in the picture...If you don't count Congress.
* A Progressive Movement was sweeping the Country...Bob LaFollete, Eugene Debs, etc.
* Large scale terrorism had yet to appear.
* You crossed the ocean by Ship...the country by train...the county by buggy And you probably WALKED to School.
* Plastic was unheard of.
* Family Doctors Made House Calls.
* Your $$$ was WORTH the same Value as it did when you earned it.
* You could go to the hospital if you were sick.
* Families took care of Grandparents...often in their OWN home.
* Familes stayed together.

You tell me...Aside from the bottomlessly IGNORANT racial / Discrimination crap AND the sway that disease held over civilization...100 yrs. ago doesn't sound that bad to me.
BUG

 

[Ticklish9's]

We have air conditioning, heat, electricity, tv, phones, malls, lots of different kinds of food that you can eat instantly. We have medical miracles that allow lives to be saved.

100 years ago we didn't have any of those things. Do those things make life better or do those things disconnect us? 100 years ago, was life better because we connected more to other people in a personal way? Because families spent more time together- in a sleigh, over the river and through the woods to grandma's house?

Which is better- technology or togetherness?

I find it unlikely that the lack of technology somehow mystically brought people closer together. With untenable living and working conditions, rampant disease and violence, and almost non-existent communication technology, I suspect that families weren't any closer together, except insofar as they worked the same fields for the same below-subsistence wages for 14-16 hours a day.

I firmly believe that humanity has made a steady progress of it and we are, in almost every way, dramatically better off today than we were yesterday. Even the idealized "family era" of the '50s is, in large part, a myth.

 

[Ticklish9's]

I'm friends with a married couple who have a 15 year old son.
He's bright, but yet is a total loser.
Had he been raised 50 years ago, he'd be a winner.

So, to answer your question Ik70, technology has disconnected this kid.

I don't know that it's necessarily fair to blame technology - where did he get that technology from?

More accurate, I believe, is to say technology has facilitated his disconnect.

Coincidentally, I think in many ways school systems foster the real disconnect.

 

[The Sean Man]

I believe he's referring to computer junkies. Tear them from their screens and they're usually unsociable in the real world.

I think in many ways school systems foster the real disconnect.

How?

 

[jim66e]

100 yrs. ago...1905
* America was RESPECTED as we were Starting to Flex Our Muscles.

Respected? America has been many things in its day but never respected. When America started to flex its muscles it was not respected it was looked down on as an upstart by the nations of Europe. They felt America was forcing its way into an arena where it didn't belong, like the child wanting to sit with adults. As for smaller weaker countries, they mostly resented our success and were jealous of it.

 

[lightninbug]

In Regard;

Respected? America has been many things in its day but never respected. When America started to flex its muscles it was not respected it was looked down on as an upstart by the nations of Europe. They felt America was forcing its way into an arena where it didn't belong, like the child wanting to sit with adults. As for smaller weaker countries, they mostly resented our success and were jealous of it.

Point taken Jim, Point taken.
An amendment:
America was taken seriously as a force to be considered.

Example:
Kaiser Wilhelm II was meeting w/ Teddy Roosevelt in Europe after TR's return to life as a private citizen. The Kaiser was full of Himself as always & remarked, "I'd love to meet w/ you but I can only spare you 1 hour."
TR replied:"That's acceptable as I can only spare YOU 20 Minutes."

AND, in the PLUS side of the ledger for 1905....there weren't SO MANY Friggin' LAWYERS.
Bug

 

[jim66e]

Point taken Jim, Point taken.
An amendment:
America was taken seriously as a force to be considered.

Example:
Kaiser Wilhelm II was meeting w/ Teddy Roosevelt in Europe after TR's return to life as a private citizen. The Kaiser was full of Himself as always & remarked, "I'd love to meet w/ you but I can only spare you 1 hour."
TR replied:"That's acceptable as I can only spare YOU 20 Minutes."

AND, in the PLUS side of the ledger for 1905....there weren't SO MANY Friggin' LAWYERS.
Bug

That is hilarious. I'd never heard that, thanks for posting it.

 

[MrMacphisto]

Respected? America has been many things in its day but never respected. When America started to flex its muscles it was not respected it was looked down on as an upstart by the nations of Europe. They felt America was forcing its way into an arena where it didn't belong, like the child wanting to sit with adults. As for smaller weaker countries, they mostly resented our success and were jealous of it.

Wrong... America WAS respected after WWII. We helped save Europe, and we definitely saved East Asia from the ravages of Japan. Unfortunately, that respect lessened as the rest of the world noticed how we started to become very similar to our enemies, the Soviets.

 

[Ticklish9's]

How?

The emphasis on specific definitions of success, the inculcation of capitalist consumerism, the environment of compulsory attendance, recitation of facts as as substitute for educational input, disciplinary action in response to individualism...

Yes, in many cases you hear these sorts of compaints resulting from teenage angst, but there's a core of reality behind them.

I also think that an ethics course couldn't hurt the school system - for students AND faculty.

 

[lk70]

The emphasis on specific definitions of success, the inculcation of capitalist consumerism, the environment of compulsory attendance, recitation of facts as as substitute for educational input, disciplinary action in response to individualism...
.

YES! And not just in schools, I don't think. Welcome to corporate America as well. When did our shift as a society go from compassion to consumerism?

 

[MrMacphisto]

Um... I hate consumerism just as much as the next guy, but I've never seen any evidence to suggest that compassion was EVER the focus of society. Certain people in society are compassionate, but it's never been a common enough trait to truly be the focus of American culture, whether we're speaking of today or of 100 years ago.

 

[BigJim]

As a people we have become totally disconnected with what is important and vital. A recent study indicated that 15 year olds have incidents of mental and emotional ill-health that are 70% higher than just two decades back. 15 YEAR OLDS!!! This is largely due to increasing pressure to 'suceed' and the hideous amount of debt they realise they are going to be saddled with if the DO manage to 'suceed'. IT is also not entirely disconnected from the amount of time they are having to study, which has increased disproportionately in recent years. Many parents of those concerned in the study said they felt their children were put under far more pressure and were far unhappier than they were.

"Suceed" is in inverted commas because it has come to mean nothing more than repeat total bollocks onto a sheet of paper in precisely the manner the system demands, despite it being mostly fantasy. No matter if what you put is right and provably so, you will still fail.

 

[MrMacphisto]

Here's a thought... Ignorance is bliss. Maybe the reason for our increased discontent is because of our ready access to information. If we kept ourselves as much in the dark as people did in the '50s, then maybe we'd be happier in a blind patriotism. There comes a point where you must decide between acknowledging the atrocities of the world and accepting the system you are forced to follow. Those who take the latter option are often happier in life, but they usually must creatively rationalize the actions of their authorities on a daily basis.

 

[BigJim]

Here's a thought... Ignorance is bliss. Maybe the reason for our increased discontent is because of our ready access to information. If we kept ourselves as much in the dark as people did in the '50s, then maybe we'd be happier in a blind patriotism. There comes a point where you must decide between acknowledging the atrocities of the world and accepting the system you are forced to follow. Those who take the latter option are often happier in life, but they usually must creatively rationalize the actions of their authorities on a daily basis.

Ignorance is only bliss to a certain point. After that you have to take notice and then it is nolonger bliss. Certainly not bliss for everyone.

 

[steph]

What a great question lk! I think in some ways we are (strides in medicine, the Internet, etc) and others we aren't (we're much less healthy even tho we live much longer~too much fat, chemicals, processed foods...)

XOXO

 

[Cosmo_ac]

TK, just curious, but what makes this kid a "loser"?

 

[kingp]

If I may interject here....

May I remind some that 100 years ago child labor laws were non-existant or just starting, children could be and were used to work long hours in poor conditions. They may have been happy when at home, but i bet they hated the work. Also, labor unions were just starting and many jobs in sweathouses were dangerous and repetitive. (See Triangle shirt factory fire early 1910's- where many women burnt to death in a fire at a sweathouse).

I still haven't seen any pictures of people from over 100 years ago where they were smiling. LOL

Life is what we make of it. If togetherness is what you seek, than that is what you put before all else.

I think we have it better now than at any time in human history. Yes, its not perfect, but it will get better if we continue on our same course.

Kingp

 

[lk70]

May I remind some that 100 years ago child labor laws were non-existant or just starting, children could be and were used to work long hours in poor conditions. They may have been happy when at home, but i bet they hated the work. Also, labor unions were just starting and many jobs in sweathouses were dangerous and repetitive.

ok- for the sake of simplicity we need to leave this conversation focused on the United States, but we all know there are children in the rest of the world in these conditions and whose fault is that?

Life is what we make of it. If togetherness is what you seek, than that is what you put before all else.

I agree. But I wonder if people stop a minute to even think about what they want. It seems as though the trend is to seek SUCCESS whatever it may be and usually at the expense of making a real human connection.

I think we have it better now than at any time in human history. Yes, its not perfect, but it will get better if we continue on our same course.

Really? You really think it will get BETTER if we continue on the same course? What course do you think we're on? Where do you think we're headed?

I guess what I think is so appealing about life in the past (50, 100 years, I don't care) is the slower pace. We move so fast now we don't take the time to experience other people and the world around us. If one's goals in life are to make a lot of money so one can have all the things one wants and so that other people will say "s/he's successful" then this is the right world for that.

But if one wants to slow down and be a part of a community, where does one go? Did anybody see Doc Hollywood? Michael J Fox on his way to be a plastic surgeon in Hollywood and being waylaid in a tiny southern town on his way? I know, I know it's just a movie- but it illustrates my point nonetheless.

 

[BigJim]

We may have conquered a lot of diseases in the past century, but cancer is a zillion times more rampant now than it was then. One in every three people in the West gets it at some point in their lives these days.

 

[kingp]

lk70

When I was talking about child labor laws...I WAS talking about the US, the rest of the world still has children working, but it wasn't all that long ago that children worked in the US as well. Oh and if the children are working elsewhere it is not the US' fault, it is the fault of the countries who allow it to continue.

I think your arguement is for a slower pace and more community thinking....not a bad arguement Maybe it would do us all a bit of good to think of others once and again. But I think we are a pretty generous community when the chips are down. See donations for Katrina, tsunami etc.

Wh

 

[BigJim]

Oh and if the children are working elsewhere it is not the US' fault, it is the fault of the countries who allow it to continue.

The point of the argument KP, was the United States was one of these because it gives substantial custom to factories in countries that employ child labour. Just because it is not hosted in the US, doesn't mean the US doesn't have a hand in it.

No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.

 

[MrMacphisto]

May I remind some that 100 years ago child labor laws were non-existant or just starting, children could be and were used to work long hours in poor conditions. They may have been happy when at home, but i bet they hated the work. Also, labor unions were just starting and many jobs in sweathouses were dangerous and repetitive. (See Triangle shirt factory fire early 1910's- where many women burnt to death in a fire at a sweathouse).

I still haven't seen any pictures of people from over 100 years ago where they were smiling. LOL

Life is what we make of it. If togetherness is what you seek, than that is what you put before all else.

I think we have it better now than at any time in human history. Yes, its not perfect, but it will get better if we continue on our same course.

Kingp

I agree with the king. As far as America goes, we're much better off now than we were 100 years ago. However, I think we were significantly better off 10 years ago than we are now.