Old Time Christmas Radio

I've been listening to old time radio broadcasts of Christmas shows from the late 30's, 40's and 50's. That was the "golden age of radio", long gone and never to return but a great age for entertainment and imagination. Radio broadcasts require that the imagination be in full mode. In my view that makes it superior to what we get today, he visual images that require nothing more than a pair of eyes to view.

The shows that I listen to on my computer are broadcast by Christmas Old Time Radio http://tunein.com/radio/Christmas-Old-Time-Radio-p476480/  They present quite a view of the age of innocence in which they were played.  The  weekly radio shows range from comedy by greats like Jack Benny and Milton Berle to Christmas episodes of  westerns, variety shows, Christmas dramas, Christmas music shows etc. The one overarching theme of each is the lack of the crass, violent or vulgar entertainment that is almost inescapable in any entertainment today. Alas! People on those shows really respected and liked each other much more than in today's entertainment world, and there is evident a unity in the culture that has been lost in the numerous subcultures today.

People who listened live then knew what was right and wrong, what was expected and tolerated, what behavior was "normal". It was a simpler time, and that may be a good thing. The shows are a microcosms of the history of social relations and beliefs of the day. There is a corny element to it all too. Commercial advertisements that promise the sponsor's products are uh...more than they really are appear on every show. I find the ads for cigarettes fascinating, for some actually praise the health benefits of a "good smoke".

One can close his or her eyes, listen and be transformed to a more stable period. I wish the transformation could be permanent, for it was a more civil age.