A Kinder, Gentler Time

I think my age is catching up with me. I say that because I have memories of a kinder, gentler world than we live in today. But, maybe it’s just convenient memory…maybe things were not as wonderful in the past as I remember.

But, my sister and I were discussing when we first learned about taboo topics. Like a frequently used curse word in today’s world, I remember not hearing, but seeing, on a sewer pipe when I walked to school as a child. I was educated by my friend as to what the word meant. But, it’s usually just used for emphasis, not for what it stands for particularly.

As a child, we didn’t hear those words. I’m not saying my family members were candidates for sainthood, but curse words were not used in every day conversation when I was growing up like they are now.

Then there’s a matter of treating others as you would like to be treated, and not lumping people together and stereotyping them. For example, I can tell you that the ugly, racist term sometimes used by white people to describe black people was never used in my home. I guess we encountered the n-word sometime but I don’t remember it until I was basically an adult.

Our high school always had a few black students, as I recall, and as I went through school it never occurred to me to refer to them by anything other than their name. Even as integration spread, and our school population changed, each person was treated with respect.

And, now I come to politics! I recall hearing Andrew Young (I think) say that when he was in Washington, the elected leaders would fight to the end for policies they believed in, but at the end of the day the legislators would lay aside their differences on the political spectrum, and treat each other as individuals…maybe sharing a meal or golf game.

It seems we don’t do that any more. We disagree politically, and determine the person we disagree with is not someone we want to associate with. What happened?

Everyone is indeed entitled to his or her opinon, and our country was founded on freedom of speech. And, trust me, I’m not advocating for limiting freedom of speech.

I just wish people would realize that with that freedom comes responsibility. I remember one time recently getting out of the car at a local business, and some men were hollering across the parking lot to each other. Oh, the language! I did not have children with me, but I’m afraid my grandchildren can’t experience the innocence I grew up with because people are not responsible with their choices. We certainly can vote how we want, express our opinions, and be good citizens, but we don’t consider people with differing opinions the enemy.

I remember not that long ago, I didn’t necessarily know if the person I was talking with was Repubilcan, Democrat or maybe even Libertarian or independent. It seems like with the politics now, it’s okay to fight the people rather than fighting for the policies. Certainly we disagree, but in the end, hopefully most of us have very similar goals, such as a good quality of life. We just have different approaches. A gentleman held the door for me at the store yesterday. It was nice. Sure wish it was still the norm!