In America's case, I think the statement is spot on. Can you look back 10-20 years and say that its better now that it was then? Would you state that we have more freedom to be ourselves, or less?
Frankly, I think it's better now than it has been since the founding of the country and all the "Golden Ages" in between. I don’t want to see these freedoms turned back.
1700s -1800s. Capitalists tired of paying England say "Screw You" rag tag military outlasts red coats with help from the hated French. We were founded as a slave owning country, with founding fathers that owned slaves. That has changed for the better but at a terrible cost in blood. The average person, educated or not, land owing or not can now vote. Irish and Chinamen need not apply. Swarthy Italians and other Eastern Europeans seen as an anarchist threat, pledge of allegiance becomes a way to start the day.
1900-1920. Birth of Nation shown in White House, glorifying the KKK and vilifying black former slaves as rapists of white women. Wilson says “It is like writing history with Lightning. And my only regret is that it is all so terribly true.” Lynching gets a public boost. WW1 comes and goes. Women can vote in 1918. 1920s alcohol banned as part of moral crusade, which does little to stop consumption but leads to an aggressive rise in organized crime. Sex becomes acceptable for a few years. Entertainment culture starts to rise with the Movies. Actors now heroes and not looked on in the same class as prostitutes. Lets buy stock on credit. In 1907, Indiana became the first state to pass a law permitting involuntary sterilizations on eugenic grounds; at least 30 states would follow. Involuntary sterilizations, genetic manipulation, race segregation and imprisonment were justified in order to save America from the high cost of treating defective individuals, who were responsible for the nation’s social ills.
1930s - Great Depression. Strange fruit still dangling from the trees down South. Jews need not apply. Socialism (or that Communist Roosevelt) helps start pulling America out of the economic pit. Alcohol legalized when prohibition seen as full of ****. Three Stooges amuse some for unknown reasons.
1940s - WW2. German and Italian POWs still have more rights in some parts than black servicemen in uniform. Rosy the riviter proves she can get the job done and considers a broader role in society -- until the men return from the war.
The 1950s a "Golden Era" unless you happened to be a minority, attended a perfectly legal socialist or communist meeting at some point in time (house committee on un-American activities lives up to its name through unamerican activities), were a housewife looking for opportunities beyond the kitchen and bedroom, were a "company man" in the "Man in the Grey Flannel Suit" mold. WW2 vets not afraid to see real life issues portrayed in the movies. Man with the Golden Arm, etc. Experiments on soldiers using a-bombs and biological agents.
The 1960s - both a time of liberation and excess, kind of a wash. The Vietnam war, the sexual revolution, drug culture as rebellion. But, there was the civil rights movement. Separate but equal was found to be separate and repressive and unequal. Some still lament the days when the darkies knew their place.
The 1970s - boring but gradually progressive. Arena Rock was displaced by disco. Archie Bunker deals with a taboo. More minorities on TV. MASH. A miscommunication occurs between Jack, Janet and Crissy. All’s worked out in the end. Herpies and AIDs get a foothold.
1980s, greed is good, synthesizer music replaces disco. Communism falls. The rise of the moral crusade to return America to the "good old days" of the 1950s. Recession and national debt, junk bonds. My personal freedom increases dramatically with graduation from HS. Finally emerge from the haze about 1987. Education slips, recession starts.
1990s. Recession ends, Great Satan in the White House, guitars and rock return. Rap goes mainstream. White girls kiss Black boys in the media. Men kiss men, women kiss women in non porn settings. Grouchy old man Jones once again says the country going to hell in a handbasket. Individual freedoms start to decrease under Clinton in political bid to appease get tough on crime elements, which is overlooked by liberal supporters. MTV etc. increasingly crosses the line selling sex to kids. Education slips further.
2000s. Bush comes in as part of a great conservative backlash that garners support from almost exactly half of America, and picks advisors his father would have avoided. Fear of third-rate horse**** elements who got lucky once prompt hysterical reaction to further curtail freedoms. Ashcroft hits the road to sell security vs freedom. Education slips further, but remains a popular political buz word. J-lo and that tool from Pearl Harbor show how silly celebrity culture worship really is. Ripsnort posts another thread about his BMW. Charon posts another long-winded thread. FDBs eat hot wings.
Really a mixed bag. But I certainly don't believe religious freedoms are being curtailed, or that religion is under attack. Rather, I believe that people who don't want to see the book of Revelations taught in science class have to increasingly defend their rights from others who feel there is one true faith and you had better get on board.
Democracy is not easy and it has its disadvantages. Freedoms are sloppy. However, the more you shift from individual freedoms the more you move into a government that is less free and less democratic, and I believe in resisting the temptation to move in that direction.
Charon
