Thursday, December 2, 2010

Learning from the past...



If you work in an office, or regularly participate in the activity of receiving and forwarding bulk emails, you would have no doubt, seen the email that goes something like this..




"CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WHO WERE BORN IN THE
1930's 1940's, 50's, 60's and 70's

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese, raw egg products, loads of bacon and processed meat, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes or cervical cancer.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets or shoes, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We could collect old drink bottles and cash them in at the corner store and buy Toffees, Gob stoppers, Bubble Gum and some bangers to blow up frogs with.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because......

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the street lights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no Lawsuits from these accidents.

We were given air guns and catapults for our 10th birthdays,

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Our teachers used to hit us with canes and gym shoes and bully's always ruled the playground at school.

And YOU are one of them!
CONGRATULATIONS!


I've edited the email somewhat but I'm sure you get the picture.

Every time I read this email, it raises my annoyance level a little further. Yeah congratulations,
YOU made it! YOU survived, as if we're all so much over the top today. But is that all that matters?

What this email originator doesn't get, is that although we survived,
MANY didn't and their deaths/disappearances/accidents & diseases could have well been avoided.

Sure, life is different today and you know why? Because we KNOW BETTER!!!

And while there will always people who will be too careful and too over the top, you should never berate a parent who actually gives a damn about what their kids are doing, who they're hanging out with, and being contactable at any given moment.

We know better.

We've learnt from mistakes and that doesn't mean we're doing it perfectly now... But we are doing it better in somethings and hopefully, we will continue to learn to make this a better world for our children's children.

3 comments:

DJ said...

Hee! Just imagine if email had been available to these folks 400 years ago....

"Congratulations! If you can read this you've somehow survived without indoor plumbing, detergent, vaccines, or Band-Aids. You grew up despite never knowing what a vitamin is or why you should brush your teeth while being sure that comets and witches had the ability to kill your livestock and bring famine. How did we ever manage without government busy-bodies and scientific know-it-alls? We did it by trusting in the Lord and distracting ourselves by conducting holy wars and enslaving blacks and scapegoating the Jews! So, three cheers for us! Or maybe two. (Which is the bigger number again? Public math classes are just one of the other things I've done just fine without!)"

DJ said...

RYN: Thanks for the info! I'll be sure to put up some anti-Tooth Fairy netting tonight before I go to bed. :-)

DJ said...

RYN: Beach day? In December?? What a concept!

Do you ever see snow?

My SO was talking with a foreign exchange student from Kenya this week and he said this was the first snow he'd ever seen in his life. Did he like it? No - after slipping and falling on his butt, he's ready to go home!

On the bright side, we don't have to worry much about lion attacks here. But I do, anyway - just to keep in practice.