The first human to be able to speak words. I'd teach him/her how to say, "Hey, y'all." "How's your mama and them?"
How is that? I do understand it wasn't that great for all Americans but neither is today. The entertainment was ok and you could leave your doors unlocked and walk down the street without fear of being hurt.
If you look at FBI stats, crime was actually higher when we were growing up. It's just that today the media beats the drum harder. Taking into account the increase in population, the crime rate (crimes per 100,000 people) has really gone down. In the early 60s we had about 180,000,000 people in this country. Around 2012 we had 310,000,000 people. There were 70% more people in 2012 and fewer homicides than in 1960. It was the first year that the number of homicides went below 1960, which is the year the FBI started keeping stats. (I could be mistaken, that year might have been 2010, but it's in that date range.) Child kidnappings are the same. Despite all the Stranger Danger drumbeat, things were way more dangerous for those of us who "Rode my bike after dark and no one even cared where I was." The modern risk is from non-custodial parents. The recent years when inner city politicians decided to stop enforcing the law may have reversed that trend, but absent that, things have been much safer. And the increased danger is pretty much contained n a handful of locales. The expansion of Right to Self Defense has curbed crime, as has the advent of cell phones...now everyone has a phone and a camera on their person. I forget the actual numbers. I could get them if you're interested, but they would be at the national level and not for your community, which is what we each care about. The fact is the media creates our reality. Understandably, we only know what we are told.
Ok then so I was just in a well protected environment. I didn't know this about the time. I just liked the life I lived then in the city and country both worlds . I had my animals like my donkey Katy and theatre in downtown Atlanta like The Loews Grand and beautiful Fox. We could walk to the threatre or take a buss downtown at 10 ,11 yr oold.
I did same thing. I walked to the theatre many times by myself at the ages you mentioned. I almost cried when--as an adult--the local theatre closed and became a bicycle shop. I don't know that it was really dangerous in most areas, but in the aggregate it is safer now than it was before. If you grew up in Atlanta or Chicago, it may have swung the opposite direction.
Most people seemd to want to live a moral life we had a church on every corner.I rememebr seeing women in their Sunday hats. Women wore pretty dresses seemd the black women had the best looking hats and dresses you could church bells all over the cit's and see men in suits both races looked fine and men mostly stayed with their families kids had fathers back then unlike today. I can't relate to times I didn't live in though, Then the hippies came out and it all changed for all of us.I say it was our morals that changed but then it always has since time began.
Well, I go to church with people of all ages (up to their late 80s) and no one wears a suit or a tie anymore. Most women wear jeans. Most "black churches" around here are not that way. There is still the air of formality (respect) you refer to.
Yes I noticed that too. It sure needed some improvement but still had its benefits at least nobody was getting killed in drive by's or gangs except maybe some mafia and gangs up north.Now crime is the best job in town. Cartels and our youth on drugs and in prison. But I don't want to make this about that just saying I liked living in the 50's mainly because of my goats,donkey,cats,dogs and running threw the woods and going to own.I don't miss teh old outhouse in cold weather though.Or making sure e didn't sit on a snake,our outhouse was ral modern it had 3 holes instad of just 2.And all nice ones had a half moon decor on the door.