Is the USA much better today than 50 years ago?

[pearl]

It seems that this speech could well have been written in 2017.

Leading Blog: A Leadership Blog: Robert Kennedy on the Mindless Menace of Violence

 

[metis]

America is quite a violent society, now averaging more than one multiple murder per day. However, the homicide is lower than it was decades ago, but still way too high in my book.

What I fear is that what we are seeing in south Chicago could all too easily become the norm because of the proliferation of guns and rising divisions and anger between people and various groups.

And then Trump signs a bill that allows the mentally ill to have almost unlimited access to guns, whereas around 90% of the American public say this is wrong-headed, which goes to show the power that the NRA has over the Republicans and even some of the Democrats. This is insane in and of itself.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

Depends on who you're talking to. As a non-christian woman with no interest in being a housewife, I certainly wouldn't want to live 50 years ago.

 

[Jeremiahcp]

Well, I think that depends: Are you a white xenophobic Christian heterosexual male or are you everyone else?

 

[bobhikes]

That would be 1967, I was 2 years old and living in Hawaii. You bet life was way better than today.

 

[Father Heathen]

I think every era has it's positive and negative aspects. There was never a time when everything was "perfect". Your class, race, religion, etc. determined a lot, too.

 

[pearl]

And then Trump signs a bill that allows the mentally ill to have almost unlimited access to guns, whereas around 90% of the American public say this is wrong-headed, which goes to show the power that the NRA has over the Republicans and even some of the Democrats. This is insane in and of itself.

The interesting thing is that this represents the political arm of the NRA, and not the rank and file members, those that have enjoyed the sport of hunting. No one needs an assault weapon to hunt a deer or whatever, its chosen to kill man.

 

[pearl]

I think every era has it's positive and negative aspects. There was never a time when everything was "perfect". Your class, race, religion, etc. determined a lot, too.

This is true, but I think there was a period of growth in tolerance and understanding. Many of those 'negative aspects' were found to be 'politically incorrect'. Then political correctness became a liberal label and an the opponent, the enemy. I guess nothing was corrected, just simmered underground and now raising its ugly head.

 

[esmith]

America is quite a violent society, now averaging more than one multiple murder per day. However, the homicide is lower than it was decades ago, but still way too high in my book.

What I fear is that what we are seeing in south Chicago could all too easily become the norm because of the proliferation of guns and rising divisions and anger between people and various groups.

And then Trump signs a bill that allows the mentally ill to have almost unlimited access to guns, whereas around 90% of the American public say this is wrong-headed, which goes to show the power that the NRA has over the Republicans and even some of the Democrats. This is insane in and of itself.

Again you are making false accusations.
President Trump did not sign any bill that allows mentally ill to have unlimited access to firearms.
First I guess you have to know what the law is, which time after time you have shown that you don't. So to again I will provide you with the law about mentally ill people and firearms according to GCA of 1968
From Federal Law on Mental Health Reporting | Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence

"The Gun Control Act of 1968 prohibits any person from selling or otherwise transferring a firearm or ammunition to any person who has been “adjudicated as a mental defective” or “committed to any mental institution.”1 Such persons are prohibited from possessing firearms.2"
According to federal regulations, a person has been “adjudicated as a mental defective” if a court, board, commission or other lawful authority has determined that he or she, as a result of marked subnormal intelligence, or mental illness, incompetency, condition, or disease: 1) is a danger to himself, herself, or others; or 2) lacks the mental capacity to contract or manage his or her own affairs.3 The term “adjudicated as a mental defective” explicitly includes a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity or incompetence to stand trial.4

The key word here is "adjudicated"
President Trump signed into law a bill that overturned a policy that the Obama put into place allowing the Social Security Administration submit name to the NICS that they deemed mentally ill. This goes against the GCA of 1968 which says, as you read above, that a person must be adjudicated by legal authority to be mental ill before that can occur. The SSA is not a "legal authority".

 

[esmith]

The interesting thing is that this represents the political arm of the NRA, and not the rank and file members, those that have enjoyed the sport of hunting. No one needs an assault weapon to hunt a deer or whatever, its chosen to kill man.

I hate to keep harping on this. But do you even know what an assault weapon is.
Many AR-15 style firearms are used in competitive shooting. And if I want to hunt deer, or any other small game or varmints a .223,or 5.56mm, is perfectly acceptable.

 

[Revoltingest]

Much better.

 

[esmith]

much better....I'm retired

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Depends on who you're talking to. As a non-christian woman with no interest in being a housewife, I certainly wouldn't want to live 50 years ago.

You're thinking of the stereotype of the '50s. 50 years ago, it was 1967, the height of the hippie era and Vietnam.

 

[Stevicus]

Is the USA much better today than 50 years ago?

I'm not sure if a raw comparison could tell us much, but 50 years ago (in 1967), the country had been going through a much more expansive and far-reaching period of economic growth, which had increased the affluence of the population and greatly enhanced our standard of living. The period from 1945-1970 was a period of enormous improvement, both in terms of our standard of living as well as widespread political and social reforms.

Despite the violence and political tumult of the 1960s, there was a still general feeling that things were getting better and on the rise. Technology was improving by leaps and bounds, and we were venturing out into space and captivating the imaginations of millions. We had the wherewithal to build the interstate highway system and the huge infrastructure which is now in need of repair, yet now, we can't even afford to fix it.

So, it might be said that we were better off 50 years ago when speaking relatively, but the one marked difference between then and now is that there were still high hopes for the future back in those days. We were also in a stronger position to face the future. Now, not so much, as there's a widespread feeling that America is in decline and that our better days are behind us. We don't produce much of anything anymore, as so many jobs and livelihoods have been outsourced.

This is something I saw the other day: "Erie is definitely a sinking ship, and you’d be crazy not to get off" - CBS News

Decades of decline in American manufacturing have seen a 1950s powerhouse gradually eroded to a shell of its former self in the present day. But this isn’t merely a story of economics, this is a story of the human impact, the emotional toll that hits a community which has lost the means to provide for its people.

So, in places like Erie, PA, it was much better 50 years ago than it is now.

 

[pearl]

Now, not so much, as there's a widespread feeling that America is in decline and that our better days are behind us. We don't produce much of anything anymore, as so many jobs and livelihoods have been outsourced.

This is true, however I think much can be chalked up to greed. The benefit to outsourcing is the escaping of just wages, environmental regulations, taxes etc. And we have our own greed , we were not innocent bystanders. We want the best deals, lower cost, the outsourcing gave it to us. I'm afraid there is going to be a reality check soon. Much of the manufacturing jobs were eliminated through automation, that's not going to change. Why would corporations pay a just wage when robots can do the job?

 

[Satans_Serrated_Edge]

Depends on who you're talking to. As a non-christian woman with no interest in being a housewife, I certainly wouldn't want to live 50 years ago.

I feel like you must be very young if that is what you believe 1967 was like. You gotta go back a lot further than that to hit the 'leave it to beaver' era you seem to be envisioning.

 

[Revoltingest]

You're thinking of the stereotype of the '50s. 50 years ago, it was 1967, the height of the hippie era and Vietnam.

Hippies were a minority, & there was a strong backlash against them.
The rest of society was far more traditional, albeit undergoing noticeable change.
I say we're better off nowadays.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Better off than 50 years ago; worse off than 20 years ago.

 

[suncowiam]

I wasn't alive 50 years ago.

Being a minority and having the freedom I have today, I'm guessing yes for someone in my shoes.

 

[Rational Agnostic]

It seems that this speech could well have been written in 2017.

Leading Blog: A Leadership Blog: Robert Kennedy on the Mindless Menace of Violence

Generally yes I believe the United States has improved in the last 50 years, especially with regard to minority rights.