Retro Backlash
Nov. 17th, 2004 09:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
judecorpI feel like we're in the middle of some big philosophical backlash in the United States. But to be honest, I don't know what caused it. I mean, it's not like we were living the liberal high life in the 1990s or anything - Clinton was moderate at best and pushed through a lot of sketchy legislation, including the Defense of Marriage Act (1996) and the Personal Work Opportunity and Responsibility Reconciliation Act (1996). While it's true that the country /aside/ from the legislation seems to be becoming a bit more liberal (in terms of acceptance of things like stem-cell research, medical marijuana, etc.), and while it's true that the country has come a long way since the rigid gender and social roles of the 1950s, I feel like we have so much further to go.
I really worry that for some reason that is unclear to me, a small majority in this country want to in some way revert to the regulations and norms of the 1950s. Why is this? Socially, everything was so prescribed back then, interpersonal freedoms were seemingly non-existant, and medicines like Valium were finding a huge audience of women in search of "Mother's Little Helper." Women who were devastated by their apparent inescapable life sought solace in prolonged tranquilization.
I wonder if people today are romanticizing the 1950s because the financial picture seems easier in hindsight. In the 1950s, a family could purchase a home and raise a family on one income. Well, if by 'family' one means 'middle class White family.' I wonder if people today are romanticizing the 1950s because a world where social problems and injustices were buried, hidden, and concealed appears more well-run than one in which they are exposed. I wonder a lot of things.
I just cannot for the life of me understand people my age (or younger) who are also romanticizing these times, these activities. Wouldn't our mothers, who worked so hard and were /so/ passionate for Women's Liberation, just drop dead at this phenomenon? Wouldn't they see it as a slap in the face at the hands of their children, to disregard and even chastise what our mothers fought so hard for?
I just wish I understood it all. Traditions that have occurred without incident for tens of years are suddenly protested as part of some larger "homosexual agenda." Harmless activities are out, but glorifying violence is in. What is happening to this country? Where does the idea that this sort of thinking is okay originate? And how do we stop it?
Gah. Sometimes I live in a bubble, a little pocket of goodness in the midst of all this madness. I'm afraid to read the news. I'm afraid to meet new people. I'm afraid to move to other parts of the country. You never know where the paranoia is going to spread to next. You never know how far we can turn back the clock. You never know how long it will be before we're back to "Hi honey, I'm home, I had a rough day with the guys at the plant." You just never know.
I really worry that for some reason that is unclear to me, a small majority in this country want to in some way revert to the regulations and norms of the 1950s. Why is this? Socially, everything was so prescribed back then, interpersonal freedoms were seemingly non-existant, and medicines like Valium were finding a huge audience of women in search of "Mother's Little Helper." Women who were devastated by their apparent inescapable life sought solace in prolonged tranquilization.
I wonder if people today are romanticizing the 1950s because the financial picture seems easier in hindsight. In the 1950s, a family could purchase a home and raise a family on one income. Well, if by 'family' one means 'middle class White family.' I wonder if people today are romanticizing the 1950s because a world where social problems and injustices were buried, hidden, and concealed appears more well-run than one in which they are exposed. I wonder a lot of things.
I just cannot for the life of me understand people my age (or younger) who are also romanticizing these times, these activities. Wouldn't our mothers, who worked so hard and were /so/ passionate for Women's Liberation, just drop dead at this phenomenon? Wouldn't they see it as a slap in the face at the hands of their children, to disregard and even chastise what our mothers fought so hard for?
I just wish I understood it all. Traditions that have occurred without incident for tens of years are suddenly protested as part of some larger "homosexual agenda." Harmless activities are out, but glorifying violence is in. What is happening to this country? Where does the idea that this sort of thinking is okay originate? And how do we stop it?
Gah. Sometimes I live in a bubble, a little pocket of goodness in the midst of all this madness. I'm afraid to read the news. I'm afraid to meet new people. I'm afraid to move to other parts of the country. You never know where the paranoia is going to spread to next. You never know how far we can turn back the clock. You never know how long it will be before we're back to "Hi honey, I'm home, I had a rough day with the guys at the plant." You just never know.
