How far have we come?????

[hammersley]

REFLECTS HOW FAR WE HAVE "ADVANCED"???



Scenario: Jack pulls into school parking lot with rifle in gun rack.



1973 -Vice Principal comes over, takes a look at Jack's rifle, goes to his car

and gets his to show Jack.



2006 - School goes into lockdown, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never

sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and

teachers.



Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.



1973 -Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up best

friends. Nobody goes to jail, nobody arrested, nobody expelled.



2006 - Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark. Charge them

with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it.



Scenario: Jeffrey won't be still in class, disrupts other students.



1973 - Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by Principal. Sits still

in class.



2006- Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. School gets extra

money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.



Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his father's car and his Dad gives him a

whipping.



1973- Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and

becomes a successful businessman.



2006 - Billy's Dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and

joins a gang. Billy's sister is told by state psychologist that she remembers

being abused herself and their Dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has affair with

psychologist.



Scenario: Mark gets a headache and takes some headache medicine to school.



1973- Mark shares headache medicine with Principal out on the smoking dock.



2006 - Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car

searched for drugs and weapons.



Scenario: Mary turns up pregnant.



1973 - 5 High School Boys leave town. Mary does her senior year at a special

school for expectant mothers.



2006 - Middle School Counselor calls Planned Parenthood, who notifies the ACLU.

Mary is driven to the next state over and gets an abortion without her parent's

consent or knowledge. Mary given condoms and told to be more careful next time.



Scenario: Pedro fails high school English.



1973: Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, goes to college.



2006: Pedro's cause is taken up by state democratic party. Newspaper articles

appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for

graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against state school

system and Pedro's English teacher. English banned from core curriculum. Pedro

given diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he can't

speak English.



Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the 4th of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a red ant bed.



1973 - Ants die.



2006 - BATF, Homeland Security, FBI called. Johnny charged with domestic

terrorism, FBI investigates parents, siblings removed from home, computers

confiscated, Johnny's Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to

fly again.



Scenario: Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary hugs him to comfort him.



1973 - In a short time Johnny feels better and goes on playing.



2006 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3

years in State Prison.

 

[CSnyder]

Subject: 51 YEARS AGO







Comments made in the year 1955:

"I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it's going to

be impossible to buy a week's groceries for $20. "



"Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won't be long before $2000

will only buy a used one. "





"If cigarettes keep going up in price, I'm going to quit. A quarter a pack is

ridiculous. "





"Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging a dime just to mail a

letter?"





"If they raise the minimum wage to $1, nobody will be able to hire outside help

at the store. "





"When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost 29

cents a gallon. Gues s we'd be better off leaving the car in the garage. "





"Kids today are impossible. Those duck tail hair cuts make it impossible to stay

groomed. Next thing you know, boys will be wearing their hair as long as the

girls. "

"I'm afraid to send my kids to the movies any more. Ever since they let Clark

Gable get by with saying 'damn' in 'Gone With The Wind,' it seems every new

movie has either "hell" or "damn" in it.





"I read the other day where some scientist thinks it's possible to put a man on

the moon by the end of the century They even have some fellows they call

astronauts preparing for it down in Texas "





"Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a

year just to play ball? It wouldn't surprise me if someday they'll be making

more than the president. "





"I never thought I'd see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric.

They are even making electric typewriters now. "

"It's too bad things are so tough nowadays. I see where a few married women are

having to work to make ends meet. "





"It won't be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone to

watch their kids so they can both work. "





"Marriage doesn't mean a thing any more; those Hollywood stars seem to be

getting divorced at the drop of a hat. "





"I'm just afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of

foreign business. "

"Thank goodness I won't live to see the day when the Government takes half our

income in taxes. I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to

congress. "





"The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather, but I seriously doubt

they will ever catch on. "





"There is no sense going to Lincoln or Omaha anymore for a weekend. It costs

nearly $15 a night to stay in a hotel. "





"No one can afford to be sick any more; $35 a day in the hospital is too rich

for my blood. "





"If they think I'll pay 50 cents for a hair cut, forget it. "