Black is the New White

I grew up in the 60's and early 70's. I remember dressing up to go to church and it being a good thing to be identified as "church going folks." My parents were raised in the 30's and 40's and they tried to instill in me, my brother and my sisters the values with which they were raised. By the time I was an adolescent, though the times "they were a changing", for the most part, we still had the same kinds of values and societal expectations as were those of my parent's generation.

For instance, going to church was considered a good thing to most folks. Even if they didn't go so often themselves, most folks certainly didn't look down at others for doing so. Homosexuals were considered odd folks. Having a baby out of wedlock was something shameful and was kept quiet. We had never even heard of the word abortion, much less had the slightest notion that someone should kill a living baby in the womb to get out of being a mother. Rob and Laura Petrie, as well as Ricky and Lucy -- even though married couples on TV -- still slept in separate beds. Archie Bunker was considered edgy television and controversial.

We were safer too. I walked a mile to school when I was in kindergarten and first grade. When I was older, I rode my bike all over town and my parents never thought a thing of it. We didn't have missing children's faces on our milk cartons. In fact, milk was still in bottles.

Back then, if a politician was caught red handed in some kind of sex scandal, he resigned in shame. Google Wayne Hays and Elizabeth Ray if you don't believe me.

Moving in with a boyfriend or girlfriend and sleeping with them was called "shacking up", and was still somewhat shocking to decent folks.

But somewhere along the line, black became white and white, black.

Today abortion is not only tolerated, it is considered a constitutional right. Living together for MANY years before getting married is considered absolutely normal and even a wise thing to do. In fact, marriage is still totally optional.

Homosexuals aren't aberrant any more. However, being a "church going type person" is. In fact many think the millennia old institution of marriage between a man and woman should be applied to homosexuals. And if you are a member of the Radical Religious Right (formerly known as good church folks) who disagrees, you are hateful.

Today, Lucy Ricardo and Laura Petrie would team up with June Cleaver and Carol Brady to be "desperate housewives" and they would be humping anything that moved ... other than their own husbands of course. On the other hand, All in the Family is so tame, it plays on Nick @ Night and TV Land.

The things we considered normal and right in the 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's have all been turned around to be considered hateful or ignorant or at the very least, out of date.

In the 40's, Hitler and Tojo were evil and had to be dealt with. After a sneak attack on US soil in Pearl Harbor, we hiked up our shirt sleeves and fought the enemy until they gave up. All told, WWII took some 50 million lives world wide, taking Iwo Jima alone cost the USA nearly 7000 lives in the space of a month of fighting.

If we fought that war today, there would be those among us who would emplore us to "try to understand why" Hitler and Tojo hate us so much as to bomb the World Trade Center in a sneak attack. In fact, after losing not quite 3000 lives in the space of 5 years of fighting this war, we are "bogged down" and should retreat from the fight.

Historically, super powers have risen and fallen after enjoying a time of influence and wealth. The Roman Empire collapsed from a rotting within. And sadly, I think America is going along the same path. I won't be around for it, but I kind of doubt that America will be around for a Tricentennial.