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Imagine a friend of yours went away in the early 70's to another planet and just came back or slept for 33 years to awaken in 2006. This sounds very hypothetical but imagine your sitting with them having a coffee at Starbucks and have an hour to go over the changes that have occured. What would you tell them? This is my overview.....First of all the cold war is over and Russia and America are friends now at least to a good degree. I would mention that the Soviet Union broke apart and Germany united again. I would tell them that America was attacked and that the Trade Towers were destroyed. The Pentagon was targeted as well. I would mention that there is new disease AIDS but it is slowly brought under control. The most significant change has been computerization. Records are obsolete and people are getting music over computers. They also missed the CD revolution. The dial telephone is extinct and people communicate using personal portable phones similar to communicators in Star Trek. At home the cost of living has made it necessary to have two jobs and homelesssness has become a problem. Alot of jobs have gone abroad.They missed the disco era and the new wave era. New York city was cleaned up and is almost boring because it is so clean.
The greatest invention came into being...the internet which has brought the
whole world together instantaneously.
Do you remember when they were cutting the twin towers out of movies and ads to avoid making people angry? lol. The people with the power to do these things are really frightening. If it were up to me the twin towers would be on every piece of American currency. Osama would be on every milk carton, and the 767 would be the new national bird.
Re the 70's thing. I agree with Marks. The advances in technology are pretty cool and all, but I remember what air used to smell like when I was a kid. Anyone who time warped from the 70's with everything fresh in their mind would have a nervous breakdown.
I agree.
I would also tell them how although "womens' Lib" has completely skyrocketed, girls are losing their self-respect at younger and younger ages these days. I would complain that children have too much technology and do not use their brains or creativity the way we used to (they simply don't have to anymore ). I would also tell them that there are things that have bettered over those decades such as the way we educate (or try to) our children and there is a greater acceptance of people for who they are regardless of any eccentricities they may have. We have progressed scientifically, even though it may not be to where we want it, we've come so very far already. Mothers have the ability to bring an income into their family and show their daughters how many strengths a woman has and fathers have become wonderful caregivers and have come a long way in sharing the responsibilities and joys of parenting (it's not all on the woman anymore). No, the negatives probably never will be remedied and our innoncence as individuals and a nation is lost, however there are some wonderful pluses (sp?) that have evolved us through these years and we should be proud of those.
What would I say........"I know that what I'm about to tell you could very well shock the heck out of you and I'm very glad you are sitting down. The world and our society is not the same as it was when you left. There have been some very nice changes, bad changes and some pretty astonishing changes".
Then, I would proceed to tell him/her about the cost-of-living nowadays, how crime has skyrocketed in a number of areas, the computer (bad and good things about it) and how much TV/movies has changed through the years (be ready to close your eyes and/or put your hands over your ears). I would sit there and listen to the person go, "WHAT!!!....WHAT!!!......YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!......NO WAY!!!!
And, the last words I might hear them say, "can I leave now and go back??"
Actually I've thought of this often. My Mom died in '69. She was a wife and mother, so when I see commercials for feminine products or Viagra, I often wonder what she would think if she saw them. I also wonder what she would think about just popping something into the microwave for dinner....Ronald Regan as president....Moms driving their kids to school....latch key kids....Katie Coutric on the evening news....180 channels....
My older sister died in '79. She was a very smart, independant, woman's lib, before her time kind of female. I often think about how I'd love to show her computers, and digital cameras, and cell phones, and women politicians and CEOs and George Clooney. She would be so fasinated and, trust me, she'd learn how to use all the new gadgets in that hour.
I think my Mom would be kind of sad, but I think my sister would enjoy most everything I showed her.
Here in Texas, we have stay-at-home Moms. They home school their children so they don't have to deal with values at government schools.
That is the type of upbringing I had. Long summer afternoons with my
grandparents ...family on sunday I feel like an immigrant in a new culture
yet haven't gone nowhere. Ah ....Texas !
I'd go find myself playing with my STAR WARS figures and tell myself: Invest in Microsoft.
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in 2006. This sounds very hypothetical but imagine your sitting with them having a coffee at Starbucks and have an hour to go over the changes that have occured. What would you tell them? This is my overview.....First of all the cold war is over and Russia and America are friends now at least to a good degree. I would mention that the Soviet Union broke apart and Germany united again. I would tell them that America was attacked and that the Trade Towers were destroyed. The Pentagon was targeted as well. I would mention that there is new disease AIDS but it is slowly brought under control. The most significant change has been computerization. Records are obsolete and people are getting music over computers. They also missed the CD revolution. The dial telephone is extinct and people communicate using personal portable phones similar to communicators in Star Trek. At home the cost of living has made it necessary to have two jobs and homelesssness has become a problem. Alot of jobs have gone abroad.They missed the disco era and the new wave era. New York city was cleaned up and is almost boring because it is so clean.
She would be so fasinated and, trust me, she'd learn how to use all the new gadgets in that hour.
What two jobs to make ends meet?
I feel like an immigrant in a new culture
