Wrap-Up
We all have our own idiosyncratic memories of these years. I, for one, am not overly-nostalgic. I believe the times were not as good as they seemed - or rather, I believe that they seemed good to us because, unlike our parents, we did not have to spend them working at jobs, paying mortgages and bills, fretting about inflation, perhaps quietly suffering from PTSD, and raising our children the best we could. Objectively, this yesterday was no better than today.
We were the first generation raised with, and thus manipulated by, telemedia. We believed too readily in so many things. That an actress's hair looked great because of the shampoo she endorsed. That clean-cut, fair-haired people never lied. That owning a car with tail fins showed people that you were focused on the future.
Some among us may have been persuaded that one brand of cigarette made a man more manly, or a woman more appealing. Today, of course, we know that many of the public figures who were paid to endorse cigarettes later succumbed to smoking-induced cancers.
Indeed, as we've matured, we've learned new things, and we've had to unlearn some old ones. Perhaps some of our knee-jerk reactions to our feel-good memories are suspect, but over all, those years gave us a good start in life, and they deserve to be celebrated.
Ciao!
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