Well, I graduated high school forty years ago tonight and....

[PlanetBev]

I can still recognize myself...I sure as hell wish I could say the same for America.

I miss the good old days when journalists had a little integrity, when there was no such thing as Fox News, when people stood up to the government, when protests scared The White House, and when the media weren't obedient lap dogs.

For those of you of a certain age, what do you miss? :hippie:

[lpbk2713]

1. Good night Chet ...

Good night David.

[PlanetBev]

3. "and that's the way it is"

Uncle Walter

I miss Tommy and Dickie on Sunday nights...at least, I think it was Sunday.

[Art_from_Ark]

22. I think the Smothers Brothers were on Sunday nights

and my mother would never let me watch them. Or Rowan and Martin, either. Or even Pat Paulson :(

[Tuesday Afternoon]

2. I think I miss my mind the most

:D

[pepperbear]

4. I miss the days when a case of breaking and entering could unseat a corrupt president.

Now it seems like perjury, torture and treason just aren't even enough.

[Adsos Letter]

5. pretty much everything...

...including my hair.

:D

[PlanetBev]

10. I miss my tight neck

I've got turkey-wobble now...

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. 2 daily newspapers

I guess the internet is replacing them now but I really used to love reading a morning and an afternoon newspaper.

[PlanetBev]

9. I miss the EXTRA editions

I've got quite a few of them...both Kennedy assasinations, Moon Walk, Nixon Quits.

[DURHAM D]

7. I miss a better informed electorate.

[seriousstan]

8. My youth

:shrug:

[Skittles]

27. I'd like my youth back only if I could keep my knowledge

yes INDEED

[N4457S]

11. I Was Only...

...a toddler in 1968 and don't remember anything before about 1970. Sorry.

Part of what's happened is that our country and the western world are much older today. People become less flexible and more conservative (generally speaking) as they age. That's just human nature.

Another part of this has to do with our national finances. Single payer won't happen for one big reason: we don't have the money. Social Security is solvent until 2040 but the Medicare problem looms ever larger and there's simply going to be no way out of that crisis without both a healthy tax increase and some sort of means testing.

That's why no one challenges the government anymore. They can't afford to. They can't take the risk.

[Richard Steele]

12. Well, I was just thinking that 40 years was a long time, but then....

...it occurred to me that it's been 23 years since
I dropped by the HS Office to pick up my diploma.

I'll bet that I would have thought you were "old" and
not "with it" on that day 23 years ago, but now I consider
you a fellow adult, and a compatriot-in-arms.

The way things are currently going, in another 15 years or so
I'll think you're an excellent cellmate, and I'll be bribing
the guards to transfer me to your barracks in the camp.




You know what I miss the most about being young and stupid?
Being immortal.

That shit was AWESOME, and I worked the HELL out of it.

Looking back upon it now, I wish I'd put it to better use.

[World Traveller]

13. A Prosperous Middle Class, Workers Rights and Good Pay

I graduated high school in 1966 and college in 1970. Lots of things I miss about that era, including:

1. Strong unions that lifted the wage-level for all Americans - debt levels therefore lower
2. Corporate commitment to employees and the general community - fair tratment, fair wages, community involvement
3. Hope that civil rights legislation of that era would bring equal rights for all citizens
4. No police state - much lower incarceration rate, a second chance for first time offenders, reasonable jail sentences more appropriate to given crime, and a commitment to rehabilitation
5. Regulation of interest rates (predatory lending rare and frowned on)
6. Consensus that Wall Street and corporations needed to be reasonably regulated to keep them honest and the playing field fair and level
7. Much stronger commitment at the federal government level to the general welfare of most Americans
- super-rich and corporations had much less money and political power in those days
- legislation against discrimination based on age, sex, color

[jaysunb]

14. I miss

my,

1) waistline
2) hair
3) most of my teeth
4) libido
5) optimism

the last 2 come and go......:evilgrin:

[emilyg]

16. #4 is gone.

[teacher gal]

15. Very well said! n/t

[Swamp Rat]

17. The Apollo Program

I thought WE would be on Mars by now... not just robots and remote sensors.

[dmosh42]

18. I was class 0f '60, and I miss the diversity of opinion...

from many newspapers who wanted to get out the story first, plus we had strong labor unions, which led to a strong middle class. Companies that went offshore to compete against Americans were looked on as 'unpatriotic', and we were truly the 'free world' leader.

[Art_from_Ark]

19. I remember when Meet the Press had a decent moderator

Lawrence Spivak

[Vinca]

20. Class of '67 and I miss communities.

They're still there, of course, but the plants have closed and the people are gone. Farms along the main drag have been replaced by 2 shopping centers, a car dealership and numerous fast food joints. The hippies moved back from the communes to sell insurance and play golf on weekends. Bummer.

[Angela Shelley]

21. Chili Cheese Fries from Sonic

and I miss the words "we´re saving up to buy a new car".

[Jed Dilligan]

23. Why did you graduate in January?

Just curious.

[scarletwoman]

24. Graduated h.s. in June 1967. I miss the sense of optimism and possibilty.

We were so SURE that the forces of darkness -- war, injustice, bigotry, fear, hatred, etc. -- were going to be defeated once and for all. We felt so united, so tapped into a cosmic wave of love and enlightenment. We were so certain that this wave would sweep all the darkness away.

It all seemed so inevitable, that the forces of Truth and Light would ultimately prevail. That the evolution of human consciousness was on a swift and unstoppable trajectory to free itself from all the reactionary, fear-based traps of the past.

That's what I miss the most -- feeling like there really was a chance for human goodness to prevail.

It may happen yet, but I don't expect to be around to see it. I hope my children do.

sw

[lonestarnot]

25. I miss coming home from work and turning on news that was almost the truth

and being able to relax rather than be assaulted with all the "______-gates." Watergate was mild compared to what we face today.

[Skittles]

26. the pre-Walmart, pre-outsourcing, pre-Paris Hilton days

yes INDEED