Changes

The 'USA Today' Newspaper had a list of 25 things that have changed or disappeared in the past 25 years. It's an interesting concept because one does not have to be more than 25 to think of some of the things they miss. For instance, smoking cigarettes inside a building is disappearing in the U.S. because smoking is so unpopular now. Among the other things listed in that 25 that are hard to find now include: Vinyl records, typewriters, phone booths, rock band members with long hair....you get the idea.
So I was thinking about some of the social changes I have observed in the past 25 years. That is, what attitudes today have changed during that time span. So, here I go. I'll give you some of mine and ask that you tell me what changes you have noticed in popular attitudes.
* Saving the planet- It seems like everyone, not just those phony celebrities people worship, wants to save something. Maybe it's a whale or a tribe of people being abused by an evil government or the entire planet from the "global warming" of popular imagination. I suggest they first learn to save themselves. If they master that, moving on to other causes is reasonable.
* Less prejudice in the world- No doubt about it. The world is a less hostile place today if you are not the race, religion or nationality of the main group where you reside. of course those crazy fundamentalist Muslims are the exception to the rule. But overall we are ignoring insignificant differences and embracing each other more. It is good.
* Cultural contamination- There seems to be a world culture of one sort or another today. No longer is a remote area of the world unaffected by McDonald's, Nike, Hollywood movies or whatever else is propagated by improved communication and transportation. Every area in the world is becoming what everyone else is, which is both good and bad I suppose. On one hand the world is more in touch, but on the other unique cultural habits and practices are being s destroyed and replaced with common cultural habits and practices.
Anyway..there are three of my impressions about social changes. What about yours?
One thing that never changes is kids. Take the recent case of a nine-year-old German girl as proof. She was so upset about having to tidy her room she put up a sign in her window urging passers-by to call police for help. Pedestrians in Braunschweig, Germany saw the girl crying in the window, holding up a sign up saying "Help! Please call the police!" Next to her sat a small boy. Quickly alerted, police officers rushed to the scene to discover the girl had argued with her mother about tidying her room and enlisted her two-year-old brother's aid to attract attention. "The room looked like a battlefield," said a police officer who investigated ."
Officers told the girl to tidy her room. When they came back two hours later to check, it was all cleaned up. And the mother and daughter had made up too." Gee....I hope no one makes me tidy up my E mail.