Ever notice how so many rethugs long for the days of the 1950s?

[Hugabear]

I've often heard conservative types wish for a return to the "good old days" of the 1950s, the 'Leave it to Beaver' era.

Yes, the grand old 1950s...

...back when women mostly stayed in the kitchen and took care of babies

...back when segregation was still in effect...and you could use the term "colored folk", or even the n-word without fear of public wrath

...back when most homosexuals stayed in the closet, and the notion of "gay rights" would have been even more absurd than civil rights for African-Americans

When you hear any rethug mention a longing for the 'good old days' - know that this is exactly what they have in mind

[treestar]

1. Things were simpler and that appeals to their minds.

They like simple.

[RKP5637]

3. I've had republicans say that to me when trying to discuss something logically with them. They

say, "I'm a simple person." And I often think silently to myself, "and you are also a very ignorant person." I think some of that is also Glenn Beck speak ...

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Yes.

[Arctic Dave]

4. LOL. I heard this exact thing today!

I was kinda taken back by it. It just sounded weird considering the person was younger then sixty.

He would have barely been born, how could he long for that time?

They must think, Leave it to Beaver, is a documentary.

[Still Sensible]

5. Hell, they think The Flintstones is a documentary! n/t

[Mariana]

8. Funny how none of them seem to remember

(or have never learned) what the income tax rates were like for rich people in those days.

[former-republican]

6. Just a different perspective

Gas was cheap , cars were cheap , homes were cheap , manufacturing jobs were booming and you could raise and support a family on one income. China didn't own us. Companies offered their employees pensions not 401K's.

Unions were strong .

[Art_from_Ark]

7. On top of that, downtowns in most places were still thriving,

kids could stay out of the house all day and their parents wouldn't become paranoid about their safety, there was no Patriot Act, no 9-11, the candidates for President were both learned and capable, Republican politicians weren't nearly so wacko as they are today, entertainment and activities (swimming pools, skating rinks, movie theaters) for kids were cheap, a letter could be mailed for 3 (later 4) cents, and there was a rising star in the Democratic Party named John F. Kennedy.

[Archae]

14. Republican politicians weren't so wacko?

Joe McCarthy.

Richard Nixon.

HUAC.

[Art_from_Ark]

16. Everett Dirksen, Dwight Eisenhower,

Nelsen Rockefeller, Winthrop Rockefeller, Harold Stassen, Gerald Ford, Margaret Chase Smith...

I don't think you could call any of them wacko

[Capn Sunshine]

10. Really, I think it's the 1850s.

THAT is their golden age.

[demosincebirth]

11. I don't think they are thingking right. The fifties were a time with a huge middle class and

union membership was 40% in the private sector -- millionaires were taxed triple what they are taxed now.

[Archae]

12. They are in love with the myth of the 1950's.

The fantasy of "Happy Days" or "Father Knows Best."

The real 50's were not that much different than now.

[pansypoo53219]

13. taxes were way higher. yes. let's go back to eisenhower tax rates.

[davidn3600]

15. It's a fantasy that never truly existed

They view the 1950s as a golden era of American society where men worked, women cooked, and kids were brought up right with sound family values in close knit neighborhoods/communities. It's a fantasy that never truly existed.

The economy of the 1950s was expanding and had some bright areas. But life wasn't as simple as people seem to think it was. We were at war with Korea. Europe was still a mess. And the Soviet Union were testing nuclear weapons. The McCarthy era brought upon witch-hunts for thought crime. And there were increasing racial tensions. Still people viewed this as a good period as long you fit the mold society wanted you to fit into. If you were a capitalist, white, Christian male, this may have been a good time. But if you were a communist, black, asian, gay, a woman that wanted a career or go to school, or someone that didn't quite fit in...then this wasn't a good period.

Today, social conservatives are engaging themselves into social fascism trying to force society to fit what they feel is the ideal way society should be organized. And a lot of this has its foundation in religion.