So, I think that after reading the article, your qualms with "New America," can really be distiller into 6 categories; the decaying of the traditional family, a loss of faith, a feeble economy, a focus on technological advancement, widespread greed, and a lack of reverence for the military. And your article is stating that for these reasons America today is worse than America in the 1950's. However, I find myself at odds with you, even with your listed reasons. First off, the 1950's was not the "golden age," of America, in fact it was one of the biggest black marks in American history. Essentially, the United States acted as an aggressor on the world stage, threatening nations with its newfound nuclear power, and driving the world deep into the Cold War. Simultaneously, America created an atmosphere of oppression at home, allowing McCarthyism to run virtually unchecked. As a result, if someone did not exemplify the pre-determined characteristics of a ,"real American," then they were labeled a communist and ostracized, jailed, or in a few rare cases, executed. So, off the get go, I disagree with you. 

Now onto your 6 criticisms. First off, a decaying of the traditional family. By a traditional family I will assume you mean the one spawned by the 1950's; essentially one man who goes to work everyday to support the family, one women who, of course, stays at home with the kids because the thought of a women supporting the family was preposterous, two children, a dog ect..in a cookie-cutter house with a white picket fence ect.. In the 50's, this model was the only acceptable family. And all that this meant was that women became second class citizens. For the most part they could not hold a job, let alone a career, and for them to leave their husbands under any circumstances was taboo. In addition, gays and lesbians were barely even considered human, and the thought of gay marriage and adoption were so unfeasible as to be laughable. I for one fail to see how this is better than today.

Second criticism, a loss of faith. As you call it, a turning away from God. Stop me if I am wrong, but I am going to assume that when you say god, you are referring to the Judeo-Christian god, Yaweh. If I assume correctly than you are right, the number of Christians (because really we are talking about Christians) in America has decreased. And is this a bad thing? I say no, it is not. From a political standpoint, this liberates America from total Christian dominance, and helps protect minorities such as Muslims, immigrants, gays and lesbians, and even ethnic minorities who all suffered under the political dominance of Christianity found in the 1950's, the era which added "under god" to the Pledge of Allegiance. Also, America's very purpose was to be an equal opportunity melting pot, where all men were created equal, and so religious diversity should be celebrated, not despised.

Third criticism, the feeble economy. Here we have finally found some common ground. I agree, the economy is sluggish and weak, and many people have suffered because of it. And again I agree with you, the economy of the 1950's was stronger than our economy today. However, that strong economy of the 1950's was due to the influx of industry caused by World War II. The price of the strong economy of the 50's was hundreds of thousands of American lives, not to mention the other millions of Allies lost in battle. I know that a fervent supporter of the military such as yourself will agree with me that no economy, no matter how strong, can make up for the dead Americans and their grieving widows. 

Fourth criticism, focus on technological advancement. You state that technology is tearing us awa from what really matters. And while this may be true on some level (teenagers texting their lives away, or perhaps for a religious man such as your self, the availability and propagation of Internet pornography), to say that technological advancement as a whole is bad for us is just untrue. Medical advancement has drastically improved the quality of life of millions worldwide. The life expectancy of the United States has incred 10.5 years since 1950. In addition, the infant mortality rate has plummeted, both domestically and worldwide. Also, American companies like Apple have taken the world by storm with new technologies. While we may entertain ourselves with technology excessively, iris still a good thing.

Fifth criticism, widespread greed. You argue that Americans have only recently begun to fight and squabble to make more than their neighbors. This statement is so untrue that it hurts. Throughout history, humans have always been greedy, and Americans are no exception. Whether it be the over-speculation of the West, the massive theft of Native American land, or the massive inflation and subsequent crash of the stock market in the 1930's Americans have always fought for the extra buck. Greed is not a new problem, and the America of the 1950's was no stranger to the epidemic of avarice.

Final criticism, the lack of reverence for the military. First off, have you ever asked the question, does the military deserve my praise? Is the military beyond criticism? You may find it appalling that many Americans are disenchanted with the military today, but think about why this has happened. We are embroiled in two overseas wars, without objects, aimlessly propagating death on both sides. Ask an average American why we are still in Iraq, and he or she will have a hard time coming up with a convincing reason. In addition, the only news we get from the fronts are news of atrocities committed by, you guessed it, American soldiers. Whether it be the rape of civilians or other soldiers, the murder of innocents, or the desecrating if mosques or religious symbols, these atrocities only distance the American populous more from the military. So consider these atrocities before you praise the military. As for your complaint about less emphasis on a military career after high school, I for one think that it is a good sign when America's educational system focuses more on educating the next generation instead of sending them off to be killed in a pointless desert war.

Just tossing in my two cents. If you did read through my entire response, I will say that your article was effective in that it got me thinking, and quite agitated. It is now one in the morning, and I doubt that I will get any sleep as I will now only be able to think about how much I prefer modern America to the nightmarish America of the 1950's.

I wish to thank the original author as well as Anonymous (although I would prefer identification). I fell in with the sentiment of the "good old days" when I read the initial entry and then agreed with every word that Anonymous had to say. I suppose that means my convictions are not as clear as they once were.

I grew up in the 50's with two parents who had some serious problems in a culture that did not accept getting help either from professionals or 12-step recovery programs like AA. Everything got shoved under the rug and my sister and I went out into the world battered, troubled, and emotionally illiterate. While there is still much denial today, many more of us seek help to resolve our problems. That is a great improvement over the 50's culture in my opinion.

What Happened to the old America?

Not going to get into a debate over what has passed I think. However there is no all inclusive answer to the question. Your assumptions and opinions on the matter are correct on some and wrong on others; same with anonymous in my opinion. We cannot go back in time and that would be fools folly to do so. We must learn from the mistakes made in the past and not repeat them, which so far we have not succeeded at sadly. We constantly repeat many of them.

As a vet I will not discuss the statements of “anonymous” because he/she is well anonymous. I will just say I disagree totally, as the military does not start wars, the politicians do, and no individual if perfect and there are enough atrocities in civilian life to go around as happen in wars. Neither are acceptable, but both are a reality of humans period.

Human societies are a constant evolution of civilization as a whole, and therefore subject to the imperfection in all of us. Well it is nice to dream of utopias and all humans singing cumbya, it will never happen, with out total mind control and even then I suspect it will not. Many have tried to do this, including Mao, Stalin and Hitler. All they succeeded in doing was the slaughter of estimated total of 80 million to 136 million humans depending on what numbers you look at. That is the legacy and the shame of all humans in my opinion. War is as inevitable as there are fish in the sea at any moment in time.

“It is our duty still to endeavor to avoid war; but if it shall actually take place, no matter by whom brought on, we must defend ourselves. If our house be on fire, without inquiring whether it was fired from within or without, we must try to extinguish it.”
Thomas Jefferson

Let me preface my comments by saying I loved your disappointment. It was an idealistic post and I admired how you admirably embraced and critiqued what you percieve the wrongs to be in both centuries we have lived in. I agree, we have drifted, but not in some of the ways you claim. Younger generations may (may) be detached from patriotism because in their short lives, they've only said the Pledge of Allegience and have by default been removed from the hardships of war unless they tune in to CNN. If you think to the Greatest Generation, the bandage rollers, the bread and potato sharers, who were civically engaged in war efforts because of the *cost of war, you will see a different, not lesser, value base on our freedom. Younger generations inherited it, but I do find they are most enthusiastic to defend it.