Hey Bob- I'm liking the way you wrote, "We know, without speaking, that the old days were better than this." Something about it really stood out to me. Thanks for sharing this story. Great ending, btw: "Death was stalking us ..." Doesn't it always?
But we do. The West wasn't like this in the 50s to early 80s. They call it socialism now as a derogatory term, but it was the bedrock of the American century.
Then Reagan and Thatcher became enthralled by the nascent neocons and started selling public assets but retaining the risk, so the common wealth was depleted and the public risk increased.
Now corporations and billionaires run governments, so returning to "the good old days" is impossible.
But everyone can see the consequences now: the American century has passed into history.
PS: the other major differences between us are:
* America is not a democracy and we are
* We don't take guns anywhere, let alone to a celebration!
Hey Bob- I'm liking the way you wrote, "We know, without speaking, that the old days were better than this." Something about it really stood out to me. Thanks for sharing this story. Great ending, btw: "Death was stalking us ..." Doesn't it always?
Thanks Thalia. I really appreciate the feedback.
I enjoyed your piece Being Last in America. Our cultures are similar ( too similar!) and there's always someone who needs to jump the queue.
Indeed Bob. I do wonder how similar they are--especially when people say they’re just potatoes-patatas?
Both white judeo Christian post colonial societies, which is a bad start.
I think we're more successful at the multicultural stuff, and have not yet succumbed to intimidation by billionaires.
Ah yes. This is the ever present problem indeed. If we only know how to address this, Bob--perhaps the world would be slightly better off.
But we do. The West wasn't like this in the 50s to early 80s. They call it socialism now as a derogatory term, but it was the bedrock of the American century.
Then Reagan and Thatcher became enthralled by the nascent neocons and started selling public assets but retaining the risk, so the common wealth was depleted and the public risk increased.
Now corporations and billionaires run governments, so returning to "the good old days" is impossible.
But everyone can see the consequences now: the American century has passed into history.
PS: the other major differences between us are:
* America is not a democracy and we are
* We don't take guns anywhere, let alone to a celebration!
Thus the corruption:
Our Society Is Not a Bee Hive https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/17/opinion/texas-tim-dunn-trump.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Wk0.bvPQ.LHTtJ9KBQQK6&smid=nytcore-android-share