I’m not watching the news today..
Who am I kidding? I never “watch” the news. I just consume content through various channels and apps, blending sources in a foolish attempt to get to what is real.
It’s Inauguration Day in the USA, 2025, and as we usher in and institutionalize basically all the worst aspects of America, personified, I’ve decided to go on a news and opinion content strike. Seriously, there won’t be anything read, heard, or learned in the next 24 hours that’s new or news. Just more anger-tainment fed to us by businesses starving for our eyeballs and clicks and thirsty for our content so they can sell it to advertisers, all in an attempt to generate nothing but increased investor value. Cynical? Nah. Just honest. This is America today. Come on, it’ll be fun this time.
So, while on this self-imposed exile from pushed information, I thought I’d jot down some thoughts on topics related to what I think has been the very brief period when America was actually the America of today that we know and love.
Why am I doing this? Well, I was at a bar the other day as we expats and intentional-exiles discussed politics. I mentioned that America had a good run – a solid 50 years – and now it was coming to an end. I was dismissed and mocked. “50 years? America is 250 years old.” There were arguments about how people in previous generations had it good, too and that change was constant…the 1890s or the 1950s. The Industrial Revolution, the greatest generation, yada yada yada. America was strong and united back then, they said. Well, like I said, there were arguments. Mostly about those periods being great mostly for white men. But whatever.
I tried to explain my side, that America, in its form today really isn’t that old and, thus, much easier to explain the sudden and rapid movement backwards. My point was, and is, that the technologically advanced, connected, “socially tolerant” and legally protected multi-cultural, multi-gender, multi-race America really has only come about in the last generation. I offer that the America of today is young, fluid, and not as founded in bedrock as others would argue.
Again, I was mocked. So, I decided to write it down.
I suppose the central theme here is that despite our apparent perception of things remaining unchanged for long periods of time (and the desire to go back to the good-old days), the United States of America has not been a consistent and unchanging entity. In fact, American history is relatively short. My argument is that the America we experience today is a relatively recent phenomenon, approximately 60 years old. This era has brought about unprecedented growth in freedom, encompassing even the most trivial aspects of our lives, such as choosing what we read, watch, and listen to, and extending to significant choices like what we can do to our own bodies, what we purchase and from whom, and whom we can love and marry. Moreover, it has granted women and minorities greater rights and empowered technological advancements and transformations in relationship structures.
Yeah, every generation has experienced change, but considering the significant gender and racial shifts over the past 50 years, coupled with the rapid advancements in technology, the last generation has witnessed such culturally profound change that it marks a distinct era in American history—essentially transforming it into a new America. However, this new America seems to be easily discarded. Systems and standards will come and go, and it’s easier than we realize because, at their core, they really aren’t deeply rooted in history and some would like to believe.
Accordingly, I offer just a few topics and notes of thought to consider when discussing how, in just only 50-60 years, the America we think we’ve known or for which we have taken for granted, has really just recently become what we actually see.
These are in no particular order of importance, nor complete thoughts. So, just chill and let’s hook for a drink and discuss.
Women’s Rights
I’m going to be kinda limited on this one as books can be and have been written about this. But, first of all, we all know the ERA was passed in the 70s but is still not a ratified part of the constitution, right? What a fucking embarrassment. Anyway, in just one small example, it was only so far back as the 1970’s that women were even mildly considered “equal” and were unable to get bank accounts, credit cards, mortgages, etc without having a man co-sign. That’s crazy. Think about that. Before 1974, it was legal for a bank to say, “nope” when a woman simply wanted an account or credit card. Not only that, but with the relatively new concept of no-fault divorce, women finally started to be seen as something other than property, which is how they were treated for centuries. How far we’ve come and how fucking far we’ve fallen and continue to fall on the topic of equality.
Racial Equity
This brings us to the racial aspect of our program. I’ll be limited in my scope here as well to emphasize that things have changed significantly only in recent times. The past six decades in America have witnessed a movement driven by inequality, culminating in the Civil Rights Act of the mid-1960s. However, this progress was met with tragic consequences in the 1970s, with the murder of champions of the Civil Rights Movement and the law itself. It’s been a rollercoaster of positive and negative developments, often intertwined in a single narrative. But again, only in the last generation has movement been made that drives us to where we are today. And, where we are today is still so ass-backwards. One little question for those who don’t believe in institutional racism: Why were black soldiers, returning from WWII, not allowed access to the benefits of the GI Bill as were the white soldiers? Do you think that had an affect on opportunity and generational wealth?
On a lighter note, let’s remember that America did have a minority hero during the last generation that helped usher in this new age of racial acceptance. He was an attractive black football player-turned-actor and national icon who made headlines when he decided to kill his wife and attempt to escape in a white Bronco. Everyone remembers. This event captivated the public for years, resulting in numerous ancillary tragedies and deaths. Ah, memories. And, on a weird tangent, there’s a relatively straightforward connection between that incident and the Kardashian family and how that has shaped our current culture. I won’t even delve into the Michael Jackson phenomenon.
We’ll talk the whole gender thing another time…maybe, but that’s a whole other piece of the puzzle that is relatively new from a cultural history perspective.
Political Accountability & Now The Lack Thereof
It was only 50 short years ago when we saw a President of the United States forced to resign after being pressured by others in his party, as well as the rest of the country, for engaging in acts and behavior that was arguably illegal but definitely un-presidential. Man, have times changed.
Boom & Bust Economy
It’s amusing that America emerged from the Great Depression and World War II with at least a glimmer of interest in constructing a just economic society (except for women and black people, who were not granted the same benefits as white men. America had a fair tax code, a robust social safety net, affordable higher education, growing labor unions, and fair labor practices resulting in a booming middle class. For over 60 years, the country experienced a period of relative economic stability. However, the 1970s and 1980s brought about significant changes. Taxes were reduced, regulations were loosened, and there was an increased emphasis on risk-taking. An “energy crisis” or two occurred, massive deficit spending was undertaken, and a culture of boom and bust emerged. Black Monday, Black Wednesday (why are they always black?), the Dotcom bubble burst, another energy crisis hit, 9/11 occurred, the housing bubble burst, the Great Recession happened, another Black Monday, and to add insult to injury, COVID-19 put us all in a bad mood. As a result, the economic situation in America has become quite dire for a large swath of the population. It’s worth noting that, during this period, the wealth gap widened, with the rich accumulating more wealth while the middle class and working poor experienced further economic hardship. This trend is likely to continue, so it’s important to be prepared for the future. Again, I just think it’s noteworthy to say it wasn’t always like this.
Conflict
All I really have to say about this is that the last 60 years have brought us from the constant fear of “the bomb” and duck-and-cover drills in school to active shooter drills now. For fuck sake. Toss in a couple constant wars agains drugs and terror as well as 9/11 and active military conflicts-by-choice all over the place (I’m looking at you Grenada and Nicaragua among others) and we really have a depressing conflict-laden era in American history, but one that is noteworthy nonetheless and much different than the older conflicts where we had shared enemies and common interests. In the outcomes.
Media
This is where America in the last generation really shines. Americans on the last 60 years saw the transition from three channels of TVs with rabbit ears (not to mention the mass adoption of color TV sets) to hundreds of channels with the development of Cable TV. This ushered in the period of quantity-over-quality in content and ushered out the midnight National Anthem and color bars as TVs all over the country used to go dark at the end of the day. Suddenly, must-see-tv was a thing, as was a whole shit-ton of terrible. We had choices. We had freedom. And, we had 24hr news, the worst thing to happen to journalism since…well, ever. That is, until social media came around.
Speaking of media, the last 50 years or so not only saw the movement from vinyl to tape to CD to digital music, but also the cultural explosion that was TV and MTV. Suddenly, it was just as important to look good as it was to sound good, in music and news. Again, this was an important step in the development of freedom. We could listen to what we wanted, where we wanted, and how we wanted rather than being force-fed from three networks, a handful of DJ’s, and what the powerful wanted us to hear.
Then, there’s video games. Yeah, we’ve seen it all. Pong in 1972 to Asteroids, Space Invaders, and the rest of the early games. Oh, the Atari. Pac-Man. And, before the Atari, there were these magical places we had to go to play these games. They were called Arcades and were places where a couple bucks in quarters gave us a couple hours of entertainment while our parents weren’t caring where we were.
Technology
I don’t even know where to start with this one. Maybe it’s best to stick to extremely broad brushes. It’s only been in the last 30 years that the bulk of the American population has had access to the internet or mobile phones. We went from libraries to Wikipedia. Print news to digital. The US Mail to Email (to junk mail to spam). From calling a place to calling a person…to not “”calling” at all. Now, we all have a gadget in our pockets that is more powerful than the super computers used by NASA in the 60s. Plus, we used to have to go to stores to buy things. Now we just click and ship. Finally, but not finally, social media only took 15 years to go from cute and fun and sharing to world-collapsing broligarchy and fascism enabler. All this in a very short period of time…like people born in 1990 have seen all this shit.
The Era Of Cheap Travel
I’d like to say this is one of the most noteworthy and culturally significant, but they are all important. The last 60 years have seen Americans able to travel. Back in the 60s and 70s, yeah, there was air travel, but it wasn’t for everyone and it definitely wasn’t necessarily affordable. Over the last 60 years, Americans have benefited by being able to go everywhere, by plane, train (ha-ha) or automobile in ways and at a cost that would seem incredible back in the day. All this easy and cheap travel has led to amazing discoveries in cultures, made the American experience so much richer and diverse, but also ushered in some darkness as well. That, as they say, is for another conversation.
The Family Unit
This one hits home for me. The last generation of America experienced a movement from the “traditional” family unit known for decades to one that looks more like mine and so many others of recent generations. Distributed families (hello easy travel and suburbs). Divorce (hello no-fault divorce and women having a little financial freedom). Two-income homes (hello boom and bust economy and financial crisis). Latchkey kids (hello cable TV and arcades). Families in the last 60 years have gone from units held together by laws, blood, and tradition to those held together by choice if at all. Honestly, I kinda like the choice thing better.
Other notable society-changing things to come out of the last 60 years that uniquely shaped our culture and make it what it is (and some are tying to either downplay or eliminate):
- The first moon landings and a few Space Shuttle launches (and a couple explosions)
- The AIDS epidemic and a COVID epidemic (is bird flu next?)
- Sesame Street, Muppets, and PBS
- The entire Star Wars saga…oh, and Star Trek
- Led Zeppelin, Yacht Rock, and Hip Hop
As a proud member of Generation X, born in the 1960s, I have witnessed all these changes personally. American life has undergone profound transformations in a relatively rapid time, affecting various aspects of our existence. It appears that we are currently at another pivotal juncture, poised for further rapid transformations.
I feel I got to see the best of the American development, warts and all. And now I’m sad to see it go. We had a good run. We had 50 years or so of a multi-cultural, multi-racial, multi-gender, technologically advanced country. Freedom and opportunity seemed to grow for all. Not too bad. I wonder what the next 50 will look like. Probably not so good.
Cheers! Clink.
