Are we senselessly abandoning tradition? A nostalgia debate.
Posted: Tue May 12, 2020 8:02 pm
In the middle of completing my online classwork, I came across a youtube channel having a broadcast of an antique former radio channel I occasionally come across on the local christian radio channel. It's called The Quiet Time and by what little information I could find, it was running from the early 60s to maybe the 80s and is rarely broadcast today once a week on niche channels, most times skipped over if lucky. The fatherly voice of Albert H. Salter strikes an uncanny nostalgia from deep within me, for things which I have never experienced in an otherwise unstable and broken life, with a lack of faithfulness. Some of his words strike a chord with me. Back in the 60s or 70s, he mentions that "now is the time that we need a quiet place for God in these uncertain times" on a different broadcast and it rings almost ironically prophetic with today's situation.
But what is today's situation?
We've advanced so far in technology that the childhoods of our youth will never be the same. We are increasingly addicted to technology. Parents are either too afraid to let their kids out of the house, or to careless that they let the kids that do have freedom create trouble. Television shows and even toys are being bombarded by increasingly radicalized generations. This is apparent if you study the shift of cartoons over the past ten years /alone/. We have virtual propaganda shoved down our throats at every chance possible. I'm all for LGBT rights and ethnic representation, but it's gotten to the point where straight white people are not only guilt-tripped, but demonized by the media. This is coming from a gay male, so stop your typing. There's a difference from the respectful representation of Steven Universe to the LGBT community than many other shows. Boys who like football can't be boys and girls who like barbies can't be girls. I used to think the "common sense" ads were just to stop me from having fun on my computer as a kid but now they make me genuinely scared for my younger friends.
Pornography has gripped the entire youth of our nation, and made a vast majority of said generation-- me included-- addicts. There is no possible solution apart from prohibition for everyone to get rid of this problem. A checkbox does nothing. Credit cards can be stolen and read off of. It is the job of the parents, churches, or educational system to provide sex ed, not a nineteen year old "model". Again, before you send a rebuttal, your older brother's magazines have /nothing/ on the sheer scale of this complete brainwashing of our youth. I've seen kids in *elementary* school blabbering about vulgar things-- I've been one of those kids. It's clear that the parents don't care to respectfully educate their youth or at least check their phones every once in a while. I used to think the "common sense" ads were just to stop me from having fun on my computer as a kid but now they make me genuinely scared for my younger friends.
This generation seems to pride itself in dressing, talking, and acting like gangsters. Dresses and suits as per retro fashion now have the potential to have a negative connotation with being a bigot. Source? Mormon fashion and the negative stigma of the "tradwife" community. You're a sexist if you think women should wear long dresses, EVEN IF YOU THINK that men need to cover themselves up as well to avoid a double-standard.
The traditional family is a minority. Again, I am a gay man and I certainly press for rights for all people, but I also recognize the need for traditional nuclear families-- gay or straight. Having come from a relatively broken family, I will defend to the grave that people need two parental figures in their life, a strong family bond, a non-abusive relationship, and SOME semblance of traditional roles.
Organized and institutionalized religion is constantly and mercilessly attacked. I personally believe that church and state should be together for moral reasons, but even I understand this is a fringe belief so I'll refrain from addressing that directly. If you need sources, look at all the scandals about public prayers in school being shut down, religious clubs in public schools being looked down upon, some rules against bringing scripture even for personal reading, and the sheer fact that the president himself has to push for our right to express our religious beliefs in schools. A teacher pushing creationism is NOT the same as a faithful teacher leading a prayer of consenting faithful students, allowing an opt out. If we were to ban something obscure like missionaries coming to school, why not ban army recruiters because someone from an anti-war family might get offended that their son or daughter has to be in the presence of people wanting their blood to spill for their country? There was also a "what would you do" video about a woman chastising a family publicly praying in a restaurant. (It's still on YT so feel free to search it up for source). As we all know with that television show, it's based on real events. So, we can only assume saying grace in a public place is frowned upon by some people.
Imagine this. It's the year 2275, and we have super high-tech flying cars. All buildings, even in rural areas are neon-lit skyscrapers. Morality and religion are all but out the door, and the culture is unrecognizable from 2020, let alone 1980. If our view on society has evolved so much in 50 years, imagine what it could do in 255. We likely have colonies on the moon, mars, and venus at this point. You dig out your late great-grandfather's radio and plug it in to your antique houses' outlet, and you hear the ending to the broadcast I attached. Not even the entire thing, but the last 1-2 minutes. What would you feel knowing how radically everything has changed: Betrayed by society? A deep nostalgia for a simpler time of hard work and relative stability? A bitterness for the generation you live in? A longing for grandma's apple pie and the milkman and the old "realistic" toy guns?
This is what brings me to the discussion point. Are we changing too fast? Before you call me hateful or [insert political belief] despite me obviously not being the majority, I'd like to remind you that you aren't the one that is having your entire livelihood being snatched from you. If you in 2020 were thrown into this cyberpunk-like future, would you feel the same as our elders do today? What aspects of traditionalism should we retain? What should we abandon? Should we just revert to the ideals of the United States constitution or the founding ideals of your home country altogether? Are you just sad because the old radio broadcast and prayer sounded pretty, or are you angry at me for daring to speak my mind in this radicalized society, especially in NSG?
Speak now, because you may never get to in a couple of years.
-
But what is today's situation?
We've advanced so far in technology that the childhoods of our youth will never be the same. We are increasingly addicted to technology. Parents are either too afraid to let their kids out of the house, or to careless that they let the kids that do have freedom create trouble. Television shows and even toys are being bombarded by increasingly radicalized generations. This is apparent if you study the shift of cartoons over the past ten years /alone/. We have virtual propaganda shoved down our throats at every chance possible. I'm all for LGBT rights and ethnic representation, but it's gotten to the point where straight white people are not only guilt-tripped, but demonized by the media. This is coming from a gay male, so stop your typing. There's a difference from the respectful representation of Steven Universe to the LGBT community than many other shows. Boys who like football can't be boys and girls who like barbies can't be girls. I used to think the "common sense" ads were just to stop me from having fun on my computer as a kid but now they make me genuinely scared for my younger friends.
Pornography has gripped the entire youth of our nation, and made a vast majority of said generation-- me included-- addicts. There is no possible solution apart from prohibition for everyone to get rid of this problem. A checkbox does nothing. Credit cards can be stolen and read off of. It is the job of the parents, churches, or educational system to provide sex ed, not a nineteen year old "model". Again, before you send a rebuttal, your older brother's magazines have /nothing/ on the sheer scale of this complete brainwashing of our youth. I've seen kids in *elementary* school blabbering about vulgar things-- I've been one of those kids. It's clear that the parents don't care to respectfully educate their youth or at least check their phones every once in a while. I used to think the "common sense" ads were just to stop me from having fun on my computer as a kid but now they make me genuinely scared for my younger friends.
This generation seems to pride itself in dressing, talking, and acting like gangsters. Dresses and suits as per retro fashion now have the potential to have a negative connotation with being a bigot. Source? Mormon fashion and the negative stigma of the "tradwife" community. You're a sexist if you think women should wear long dresses, EVEN IF YOU THINK that men need to cover themselves up as well to avoid a double-standard.
The traditional family is a minority. Again, I am a gay man and I certainly press for rights for all people, but I also recognize the need for traditional nuclear families-- gay or straight. Having come from a relatively broken family, I will defend to the grave that people need two parental figures in their life, a strong family bond, a non-abusive relationship, and SOME semblance of traditional roles.
Organized and institutionalized religion is constantly and mercilessly attacked. I personally believe that church and state should be together for moral reasons, but even I understand this is a fringe belief so I'll refrain from addressing that directly. If you need sources, look at all the scandals about public prayers in school being shut down, religious clubs in public schools being looked down upon, some rules against bringing scripture even for personal reading, and the sheer fact that the president himself has to push for our right to express our religious beliefs in schools. A teacher pushing creationism is NOT the same as a faithful teacher leading a prayer of consenting faithful students, allowing an opt out. If we were to ban something obscure like missionaries coming to school, why not ban army recruiters because someone from an anti-war family might get offended that their son or daughter has to be in the presence of people wanting their blood to spill for their country? There was also a "what would you do" video about a woman chastising a family publicly praying in a restaurant. (It's still on YT so feel free to search it up for source). As we all know with that television show, it's based on real events. So, we can only assume saying grace in a public place is frowned upon by some people.
Imagine this. It's the year 2275, and we have super high-tech flying cars. All buildings, even in rural areas are neon-lit skyscrapers. Morality and religion are all but out the door, and the culture is unrecognizable from 2020, let alone 1980. If our view on society has evolved so much in 50 years, imagine what it could do in 255. We likely have colonies on the moon, mars, and venus at this point. You dig out your late great-grandfather's radio and plug it in to your antique houses' outlet, and you hear the ending to the broadcast I attached. Not even the entire thing, but the last 1-2 minutes. What would you feel knowing how radically everything has changed: Betrayed by society? A deep nostalgia for a simpler time of hard work and relative stability? A bitterness for the generation you live in? A longing for grandma's apple pie and the milkman and the old "realistic" toy guns?
This is what brings me to the discussion point. Are we changing too fast? Before you call me hateful or [insert political belief] despite me obviously not being the majority, I'd like to remind you that you aren't the one that is having your entire livelihood being snatched from you. If you in 2020 were thrown into this cyberpunk-like future, would you feel the same as our elders do today? What aspects of traditionalism should we retain? What should we abandon? Should we just revert to the ideals of the United States constitution or the founding ideals of your home country altogether? Are you just sad because the old radio broadcast and prayer sounded pretty, or are you angry at me for daring to speak my mind in this radicalized society, especially in NSG?
Speak now, because you may never get to in a couple of years.
-