To the editor:
I was born in 1939, a turning point in our history regarding tremendous changes in both our standard of living and our attitudes, values and expectations.
When I was growing up in the 1940s and ’50s, many people in our country still did not have central heat, running water, electricity, indoor plumbing or private telephones.
In addition, our country had been through a long period of turmoil. From the turn of the century until 1945, we experienced terrible labor conditions and disputes; the threat of communism; Prohibition, the Great Depression and the incredible evil of World War Two. At the end of the second world war, our population’s psyche, attitudes and beliefs had been forged in fire and collectively, we were tough. We knew that we were responsible for ourselves and if anyone was going to make it happen, it was each one of us, individually working together for a common goal. We were very diligent in believing that we would not allow the evil of World War Two to ever threaten us again.
Things changed. Jobs became plentiful; more and more of us became prosperous and almost all of us enjoyed a much better standard of living, including electricity, indoor plumbing, central heat, one party telephone lines, and miracle of miracles, central air conditioning. As a result, we got complacent to the point of overconfidence and much less diligent regarding the evil that was beginning to re-emerge in our world. And, here we are today: surrounded by evil, corruption, entitlement, permissiveness, and immorality, all of which threaten to destroy us. I love the old saying, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
There is another old saying, “the more we change, the more we stay the same.” In some areas, I sincerely hope this is not true. I have seen the pendulum swing from the really good times we had from 1945 through the early ’60s. We have been going downhill ever since. And, while I believe that there is still hope that we will not return to pre-World War Two economic conditions as more and more people understand the seriousness of our problems, I am concerned that too many people are still hiding their heads in the sand, complacently ignoring disaster.
Consider this: you wake up tomorrow morning and turn on your shower and nothing comes out. You turn on your heat or air conditioning and nothing happens. Your toilet won’t flush; you can’t make your morning coffee. Seriously, what will you do? I wonder if our younger people who have never wanted for a flushing toilet or a hot shower appreciate that these two seemingly small things are two of the greatest inventions of the 20th century.
In my opinion, the most important thing we can do is to recover the attitudes and toughness of our ancestors. Be responsible for yourself! Do not expect the government to take care of you or to make you happy because I guarantee you that will never happen.
Educate yourselves regarding our governmental structure, politics, economy, system of taxation and other important aspects of our society. Do not believe anything that the media or our politicians tell you; research it for yourself. Demand honesty and political reform from our political officials. Vote. Take a personal responsibility to fight evil where ever you find it.
Awareness is the precursor of change. We must stop ignoring problems that threaten our peace of mind if we are to maintain the standard of living we enjoy today.
Don McCullough
Manhattan
