When did we change?

Question

I just finished reading Flags of our Fathers and I must admit it made me cry. When did we stop being like that? When did we stop being willing to scarfice for our freedom. And please dont waste my time telling me it was Bil Cliton's marital problems, he wasn't the first man to cheat on his wife (or even the first President: Warren Harding has sex in the same darn closet) and he wasn't the last. And dont tell me it was George Bush's failed iraq policy he is not the first president to lead us into a war of agression (look at the Mexican American and Spainish American Wars) or even the first to lead us in an unpopular war (Lincoln, Wilson, Truman, Johnson and Nixon did the same)

When did Americans become obessed with hating each other? The political question here tend to be personal and spiteful not intelligent and articulate ("Bush daughters are drunks", "Hillary and Bill havea fake marriage" "Barack is a terrorist" "Mitt Romeney wets the bed" yuck).

Answer 1

In the 50s we got very comfortable with our life styles and did well.
We had more than enough and in plenty people get picky.

We have the attention span of kid who is ADD who just ate his 10 boxes of sugar pops.

We lost our history and studying it and taking responibity for our lives.

With the advent of PC we lost our sense of humor.

No I don't blame Clinton, Bush or who ever was in the White House.

The fault dear Burtus is not in the star but in us.

I know people won't like this but we lost our faith in something more important than ourselves.

Talk to retired teachers and there was no problem with a prayer in school.

There are lots of reasons I just think we just got lazy and forgot what it takes to put food on our table to grow it.

We lost our connection to the Earth and each other.

Answer 2

I don't know the answer, but I gave you a star for a very interesting question. I often wonder the same thing. Somewhere along the line, Americans lost sight of the reason we are Americans to begin with. Our ancestors, I'm sure, are rolling over in their graves at our political and judicial system today.

Answer 3

We changed when our economy inflated to the point where both mothers and fathers had to start working to survive and divorce and other anti-marriage behaviors became commonplace resulting in a breakdown of the family unit which in turn resulted in the decay of morals and values because kids then started learning outside of the home instead of from their parents. Then you have the self-centered me-me-me attitude of today and what do you know? You have a screwed up country.

Answer 4

I think you are going about this the wrong way. You are comparing the dramatization of a traumatic event, to real events. In fact what really happened on Iwo Jima will never be understood, even by those that were there. War is the most traumatic experience possible, and trauma has a way of erasing it self from the mind. Some times pain is so bad that if we remembered it we would go crazy. So we try our best to tell the story; we dramatize it. That's why we get these great, epic WW2 stories that choke us up. That stuff makes me cry too. But don't forget who is telling the stories.

Remember back in the forties people weren't as desensitized to media and publicity. Propaganda worked better than. During WW2 people thought they were fighting a "good war", and that is the way the story is told today. For years I looked up to my Grandfathers for fighting in WW2; thought it was the greatest thing America ever did. But I believed that because I believed the dogma. There was nothing special or "good" about WW2, nor any other war!

Yes we had to defend ourselves from the Japanese, yes we couldn't let the Nazis take Europe, but lets not make a myth out of facts. During WW2 soldiers went AWOL, soldiers and pilots would chicken out, people protested, there were consciences objectors, people went to jail rather than going to war. There was just less rejection than we are experiencing today. With free expression on the Internet people's real views are easily spread and heard.

To keep a war supported by the people, the war movement must convince the public to support it. During WW2 the country did a good job at rallying support. Today people are a little savvier; we have been exposed to the commercial lifestyle and have become desensitized to it. 95% percent of Americans in the 40's bought "Fox News" style propaganda, today it is less than 50%. We have gotten wise to the ways of the media!

WW2 isn't all that we crack it up to be. It is easy to point the finger at the Nazis and Japanese and say they were evil. But the Nazis and the Japanese were just following the natural course that many other countries had leaded the way for (including the US). We have started wars without provocation in the past (Mexican/American War, and the Spanish/American War). We have slaughtered millions of civilians (Philippine War, Native American genocide, and African Slavery).

We did what we had to do in WW2, just like anybody else would have done in the same situation. There is nothing special about America; a combination of luck, protestant work ethic, and resources are what made us “great”. There is nothing inherently different about us than the people we beat. The only difference is that we had better leadership. Today our leadership sucks; I don't care what anybody thinks about G. Bush. Most people don't like where he has brought us, simple stuff.

Answer 5

Thomas G. , your display of insight is beyond comprehension to the shallow, "OSCARS" idolizing crowd. Your first answerer was very close with regard to the question of ''when''?

We did change in the 1960's because actors became political activists during those heady years!!!
It's as simple as that; remember 'Occam's Razor' ?

"Hanoi Jane" now "Jihad Jane" made her first nefarious appearance at this historical cross-roads; on enemy territory no less. She has come full circle visa-vis her self serving stand on the backs of our brave military men & women. She cultivates much needed publicity which consequently germinates outrage in the hearts of the average hard-working American & self-sacrificing soldiers. It became unbridled Hollywood greed vs. American values and God-fearing genuine goodness !!!

That's when we changed, though unfortunately it wasn't for the better!

Real question should be:
Does David Geffen believe in a higher power?

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Answer 6

America's problems aren't all about Clinton, Harding, Bush or who ever else is in the White House......America has lost it's collective morality.....Everything goes, there are no morals .or very little to be spoken of..........Don't you find it curious that after 9/11 Americans were afraid, falling on their knees in prayer, filling the churches......and after awhile when we are comfortable in our foolishness , we turn on God ,We don't need him..Not in our lives , schools, government, ......prayer is thrown out the door.......Ten Commandments treated like a cheap comic book.......gods name is legislated out of our lives.........

I will bet that when another disaster happens here everyone will be on their knees again.......and among the people praying will be the many who don't want the name of God to be mentioned anywhere.......but here's the kicker. we are already swearing in people to serve in our government by allowing them to Place their hand on the KORAN .......Our Christian ways are being shoveled away. America is becoming lazy , and pitiful......
We have turned our eyes away from God..could it be he's doing the same to an ungrateful America ....

Answer 7

Probably some time around Vietnam if I had to put a date to it.

Answer 8

first you ask, than you tell us don't tell me this and don't tell me that, do you want to hear the truth or not.?