If you go back to the days before those nasty feminists and pot-smoking radicals, what about segregation? What about civil rights for minorities? What about laws that protect women from domestic violence and give them legal rights apart from their husbands? If you step further back, what about child labor? What about slavery? What about the upper class that was terrified of teaching the lower classes to read let alone write for fear they would rise about their restricted sphere in life?

 
I am getting old enough to remember the good ol’ days. It’s fun to reminisce about life before personal computers, the Internet and smartphones. I remember when gas was less than 30 cents a gallon, and you could buy two pieces of Bazooka bubblegum with a penny. But it’s also easy to romanticize the past. When you’re a child, there are many things that go over your head, so childhood memories, while personally meaningful, may not be the best with which to assess society as a whole.

If you go back to the days before those nasty feminists and pot-smoking radicals, what about segregation? What about civil rights for minorities? What about laws that protect women from domestic violence and give them legal rights apart from their husbands? If you step further back, what about child labor? What about slavery? What about the upper class that was terrified of teaching the lower classes to read let alone write for fear they would rise about their restricted sphere in life? What about the basic rights, and yes I am going to use that word, of being respected as a human being and treated as such?

Unless you were wealthy which was often the basis for power and position, life was grim. In the movies and TV shows, you see the opulent houses and the fancy clothes, but what about the other side of the tracks that aren’t so pretty and don’t make for good ratings?

I have no problem with reminiscing, but I don’t think the solution is trying to turn back the clock. The only truly good days in this creation were in Eden before the Fall, and the way back is barred forever. While God may grant a peaceful and quiet life, and we should pray for this (1 Tim. 2:1-3), our best life wasn’t then nor is it even now. Our best life is the one to come.

Persis Lorenti is an ordinary Christian. You can find her at Tried With Fire and Out of the Ordinary. This article appeared at her blog and is used with permission.