"Back In The Day...."

"Back In The Day...."

....little kids watched TV shows such as "Sesame Street" and "Captain Planet". 

....parents could send their kids outside to play without fearing that the kids would be shot, molested, or abducted. 

....nobody ever was afraid of getting shot or stabbed at school. 

....people could say and print what they wanted to, even if their opinions weren't shared by the majority. 

....Democrats and Republicans worked together for the good of the country, not for their own self-interests. 

....Connecticut wasn't just the gateway to New York City (and Boston), it was a great place in its own right. 

....there weren't terrorist attacks or race riots every month.

....teachers encouraged their students to be creative, and ask questions.   

....if you were caught cheating in school, it was cause for course failure, or even something more drastic. 

....if you were late for class in school, you were seen as a troublemaker, and often given detention. 

....if you failed a test, you didn't complain to the teacher.  Instead, you studied harder for the next one. 

....whether you were black, white, Asian, Native American, or something else, you got the grade that you earned, not the grade that you thought you deserved. 

....our military veterans were not only respected, they were saluted for their service. 

....people who were obviously crazy were sent away to mental hospitals, but those with dissenting opinions were tolerated. 

....radio was full of great music on both sides of the dial, not watered-down pop by some teenage kid.  Yet, our parents still didn't like it, LOL. 

....there was such a thing as music on MTV. 

....America was not only respected, but seen throughout the world as a major force for good. 

....America's enemies knew that it wasn't a good idea to mess with us.  If they didn't know this, they soon found out. 

....it was a mind-boggling thought that any American president would ever commit treason, or worse yet, be allowed to get away with it.  Hey Obama, am I right?

....absolutely nobody was above the law, not even the president. 

....although Democrats would lose elections, they would never complain that the elections were "fixed", or "rigged".  They would simply accept their defeats, and try again next cycle if they were so inclined. 

....American Communists were routinely run out of town, and told that they weren't welcome here....as they should be. 

....you simply COULDN'T burn the American flag. 

....the American flag flew high and proud over high school and college campuses. 

....America, although never having a black president, was seen as having come a long way in race relations. 

....a man named Ronald Reagan warned that if we didn't fight to protect our freedoms, we would lose them. 

....as such, it has happened that we now spend our time "telling our children what it once was like in America, where men were free" (Ronald Reagan)....but that was "back in the day".