What was Once

What was once . . .

Our current age of instant digital information has proven easy access to not-so-important knowledge. We now have unending accesses to most media, access to more gossip avenues, and exposure to way too much useless information. All of this instant access makes history a bit more accountable – or maybe it’s lost in the shuffle? Which is why history through TV seems so precious; it’s a time capsule of what was once simple. Mork and Mindy, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat  – simple. Raise your hand if you miss SIMPLE.

This current information overload seriously has me waxing nostalgic for the days when we only had three main TV networks, “instant” Polaroid cameras, and Pong was the only game that interfaced with your TV. What was once simple has become overly complicated. I hate complicated.

TV and it’s Impact – 70’s Style

‘Way back’ in the 1970’s we had Archie Bunker, the Fonz, Maude, Laverne and Shirley, Mary Tyler Moore (a hold over from the 60’s – yikes!) and absolutely NO whiff of ‘Political Correctness’. White girls working the line at a Milwalkee plant, white  men who used to work the line at Ford or GM, trying to find their voice in a new world. A new “1970’s” world.

Economic times were BAD here in the U S of A, and TV gave us a glimpse into the America that exposed bigorty, lying politicians, class wars and an unrealistic ideal of life that never really existed. Were we dupped?! My family was. “Buy American!”. So we did. “Support your local union!” And we did. But to what end? Well, by the end of the 1970’s we had unprecedented levels of unemployment, jobs lost due to cheaper goods produced outside the US of A. Are we better now? What would Archie say?