The way it should be.

ronjhall · Jan 30, 2002

Richard
 59 years old. Hard to believe isn't it!
/w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif That's my age. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif I don't remember things quite that way. /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif But it sure would be great if some of the morals would return. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif I kind of like all the great things that we have available to us. I'll take my Kubota over the Farmal "H" and "A" that I operated when I was in my teens.

Bird · Jan 30, 2002

key....you grew up in the country

I think you're probably right, Kevin. I grew up out in the country, too. And I never saw any drugs, not even marijuana, until I was 24 years old and a police officer. Every boy had a rifle and/or shotgun (got mine before I was 11) and a pocket knife (been carrying one since I was 6), but no one ever thought about using those things when we had little disagreements and fist fights. We didn't even know anyone who locked the doors on their house or took the keys out of the ignition on their cars. And no one was going talk back to a school teacher, much less assault one, because they wouldn't hesitate to use a wooden paddle, and probably most kids were told, just as I was, "you get a whipping in school, you'll get another one when you get home."

I suppose things were always different in the big cities. I once heard of an author (don't remember the name) who supposedly got permission to ride along with police officers in New York before writing a book. He said he had wondered why young men who were physically and mentally sharp would be willing to work as police officers for the pay they got. After riding with them, he said he realized the reason was that they "had a grand stand seat to the greatest show on earth."/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif I can understand that because for the first couple of years on the police department I hated to see quitin' time come every day; just marveled at the weird things that went on in the big city/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif, and now I'm afraid it's gotten even worse./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

JoeR · Jan 30, 2002

American's were innocent, not ignorant...

"some cities have had gun bans even before WW1."

Which cities in the U.S. had bans before WW1? I am really curious about that.

" this is why the world views americans as stupid and self-centered - we are for the most part. "

I don't think Americans are stupid. Most Americans are misled by the news they read and here; although, if that is your only source of information then you could be considered stupid. Most of the news agencies tend to give half of the story in order to fit the information into their 5-10 minute segment. It is more important for the station to get their commercials broadcast rather than give the complete story.

Joe

JATO_RaT · Jan 30, 2002

Hey JoeR, well said, I must agree with your comments. If I had to take a wild guess as to which cities would ban guns prior to WWI, I'll bet on Boston, San Francisco and Berkley. Rat...

bky · Jan 30, 2002

just one question when is the last time a teen called you mr.(so and so)? when i was growing up you called everone mr. or misses.

forestcreature · Jan 30, 2002

wash dc, san francisco, los angeles, and nyc on the gun ban to start, i think philly had one for a while before 'modern' era. many towns had bans on weapons [research the old laws - some cities still have rules about having to walk in front of an automobile carrying a red warning flag to alert those with horses].

i am glad some of you had a simpler life growing up, and i hope that you can raise your children in peace and without fear, although i wonder how any of us can be as carefree as we were on sep 10th anymore.

i want to thank all of you for listening to my perspective.
i just wanted to point out that there have always been serious problems with what we were taught as history and what actually happened.

ok, for more trivia - why is it illegal in most states to hunt with a crossbow?

glennmac · Jan 31, 2002

All these Deere owners shouldn't grieve so much about not living 50 years ago. Look on the bright side: you are happily driving 50 year old technolo........oops. Promised I wouldn't do that anymore. No daisy cutters, please.And I'm just as p.o.'d as Bird about them Dallas cops using marijuana. No wonder they never found the guy on the grassy knoll.

Thomas · Jan 31, 2002

I always believe it starts at home..manners,which can improve one life thru out the years.

Wingnut · Jan 31, 2002

Joe ... a lot of American towns had gun bans ... back in the 1800's ... when everyone wore one - out in the open. IMHO - they also had a lot less crime (except in the towns that banned guns) because the "good guys" could fight back.

I have to disagree with your contention that most news agencies hold back half the news to "report at 11" .... again, IMHO, that gives them far too much credit for altruism. The media reports only the news that matches their worldview ... so you'll not see any reports from any of the standard outlets that, say, the father of John Walker Linh is gay. Why? Well ... it would defeat their standard contention that being gay harms no one ...
For some reason, the media seems to all ignore the quote attributed to Churchill - "if you're not Liberal when you're young, you have no heart; if you don't become Conservative as you grow older, you have no brain" .... or else the great majority of media people never look in the mirror ....
</soapbox>

Jag · Jan 31, 2002

CBD, good discussion you got going here.. It reminds me of one I had with my Grandmother I had back about 68-70. She was born in 1888. she was sure the world was going to "Hell". It may have been I ever heard her say that word... After talking a while I told here the world is pretty much the same. She and I talked a a great length about this. I said that you have just about the same precentage of bad people as ever, just got a lot more people. I reminded her about the man over in rural part of the county that killed his parents, cut off his mother's head and head it under his bed just before I was born. Also about the old lady and her sons that ran a hotel at a landing on the Arkansas River in the 1880's, who would kill single travelers with money and no apparent local connections. They dumped the bodies through a special trap door into the river. Oh' it was much better in the big cities that were much more refined. Duals fought and men killed in the Arkansas State Legislature.

The biggest difference was how small the world had become at the time. (Much smaller now.) When she was a little girl it make take 6 months to a year to hear about a murder in an other part of the state. And if it was too far off you would never hear about. Now if some person does something anywhere in the USA it can be on the national news not to mention the local, print, radio and TV.

People are pretty much the same, just learning new ways to do the same old things.....

Thanks, for letting me get that all out....