I can’t resist examining what’s wrong today, so here is a script from one of my 1978 radio shows.
“Let’s imagine a beautiful city, somewhere in the United States. The time is the 1920’s. The parks are clean, well maintained, and green. There are band concerts in the band shell on Sunday afternoons. The amusement park is a fine example of such things, with roller coaster, swimming pool, dodgem cars, Ferris wheel, and a huge dance pavilion for dancing to big band music. The merry-go-round has a band organ that plays merrily for one and all. The zoo has all the well known animals, such as elephants, lions, giraffes, and even hippopotamuses, and it is a credit to the community. The schools are substantial, with excellent architecture, and construction, and the three “R’s” are taught with kindness, but firmness. The high school graduates are all literate, with some going to college.
“Trees line the streets, and most own homes with well tended lawns. Some own autos, and many don’t, because they aren’t really necessary. Trolley cars ramble down the main streets, with their musical bells, stopping to pick up children on their way to school, or Dad to take him to work. The air is clean and smog free. Passenger trains come in to the depot regularly to provide transportation to distant cities.
“The homes in our city are of good design, with high ceilings and large rooms. Most have fireplaces and a basement. The houses have excellent craftsmanship, with the woodwork and furnishings reflecting pride of workmanship. The radio is listened to evenings, with such shows as “Amos and Andy,” “Fiber McGee and Molly,” “Truth of Consequences,” or “The Telephone Hour,” among many from which to choose. Mom doesn’t have to work, because Dad earns enough to support the family. While doing her housework, she often will listen to ’soap operas,’ such as “Portia Faces Life,” Ma Perkins,” or, “When a Girl Marries.”
“Our city has wealthy neighborhoods with large mansion type homes, where the owners employ domestics, and drive fine automobiles. Our city also has poor neighborhoods, where the houses are not as large or well kept, but there are no slums. Most neighborhoods are middle class, with a few apartment buildings scattered about, mostly occupied by retirees who want to escape the maintenance of home ownership.
“In our city, we have the downtown shopping district, with its large department, clothing, shoe, and furniture stores, plus fine restaurants and first run movie theatres. Neighborhood theatres show second run features, and hire high school kids to act as ushers and concession stand workers There are drug stores with marble soda fountains, and shelves filled with the usual patent medicines. The prescription room is in the rear, with pharmacists filling prescriptions written or phoned in by neighborhood doctors, which are delivered to customers’ homes by the drug store porter. The drug stores, grocery stores, and other shops, are all locally owned and operated, and their proprietors are anxious to please and serve their clientele. The police are firm but friendly, and all regard them as their friend.
“There is no welfare or Social Security. Churches are well attended, as are concerts by the local band or symphony. There are a few fine restaurants, some coffee shops, lots of drug stores with soda fountains, and a few ice cream parlors scattered about our town. It snows in winters and is hot in summers. Lawns are sprinkled, and snow is shoveled. In short, our town is as most were in the twenties, or even early thirties. Isn’t it a nice picture? What has happened?
“Stop and think now. What has changed? It still rains, snows, and gets hot in summers. TV has replaced radio. Shopping centers have replaced the downtown areas. Freeways have replaced the streetcars. Smog and filth have replaced the clean air. Crime has soared, and schools are graduating functional illiterates. The fine old neighborhoods are now high crime areas, and its homes are dilapidated, seething with racial unrest and crime. Chain operations have replaced the individually owned businesses. The once fine American city has become a shambles, and undesirable. New houses are of poor quality, and raging inflation are a negative influence for saving. Where did America go wrong?
“Transportation wise, we were seduced by government with freeways, which of course added thousands of tons of pollution to out once clean air, plus raised fuel consumption by thousands of percentage points. Privately owned streetcar and bus systems were unable to compete, so they went into history, or are operated at huge losses by government. With the freeways, America moved to the suburbs, with cheap, new homes, and lots of bumper to bumper driving to get to work. People had to get away from the old neighborhoods which declined rapidly, after being poisoned by government, who saw fit to allow anyone to ’buy’ a home anywhere, with little or no money down. No private bank would loan money to someone with little or no credit, but they were forced by government, who guaranteed the loans. People with government guaranteed money, moved into areas which they were unable to afford or maintain. Long time residents moved as quickly as they could, to save their investment before the whole neighborhood went…which it always did.
“People who became unemployed, were seduced by government into taking money for not working, and some lost their work habits permanently. Others felt it unnecessary to be good employees, as they would receive money for working or not working. Others had children they couldn’t afford, because they were seduced by government money for child support, and some deliberately had many children and made a living off of government child support money. Money which would stop if a husband were present. Public housing projects were filled with worthless people and their equally worthless offspring.
“Schools were ruined by government orders to pass pupils to the next grade, so they wouldn’t feel ’ashamed’ or unloved at their lack of achievement. It got so bad that colleges were ordered by government to accept a certain number of non-achieving students, regardless of their qualifications, and especially if they were of a minority race. Church attendance shrank, because their good charitable works, had been replaced by government handouts, and churches were not considered necessary any more. With education fairing poorly, the taste of the population degenerated into indescribable depths, and most of the citizens spent hours and hours in front of TV screens, watching mindless programming., while the symphonies begged for money from the government. Government gave it, only if they played some music written by talentless composers, whose music was dissonant and unpleasant to the ears. Radio became a free juke box which droned on and on, 24 hours a day, playing top hits, with tunes consisting of three or four chords and the word “Baby” sung over and over with a few common other phrases.” (Rap had not come on the scene when this was broadcast, which of course is exploring even further, the depths of hell. A recent comedian asked his audience what you get when you combine rap with country music? The answer? Crap.)”
“Taxes grew phenomenally, until they took well over half of everyone’s money. It took lots of money to pay for government administrators. Government grew so short of money for its programs and employees, that it removed the gold backing from the dollars, and made the former silver coins out of cheap metal. Government began printing unbacked paper money to pay its bills, and the money began to lose its value, with prices going up. This was known as inflation, and in order to protect themselves at least a little, the citizens began buying cheap merchandise, mostly made in China, and Americans lost their jobs, making the situation even worse. Big chains came in, driving small businesses bankrupt. Lotteries were established by local governments, which took money from poor people under false promises of getting unearned wealth. All the time, government was establishing new programs, and hiring more bureaucrats, to ’help’ the people with free food, health care, welfare, transport, and even with the utility bills and medicine. Government ’helped’ everyone so much, that we were all destroyed. The money became worthless, citizens were unable to care for themselves, and the cities failed. What will happen after that, remains to be seen.” (This was broadcast and written in 1978!)
P.S. Exactly one hundred years ago today, the world’s greatest dancer was born. Gene Kelly. He died at age 83 from a stroke in 1996.