Bill Sykes' Newsletter from America.
(June 2005)

An ex-Brit gives his views - (without fear or favor) - of the American Scene

Then and Now: (How things change).
The following is a slightly modified version of an article that recently came across my desk by an unknown author from an unknown source. As the original article related to the period 1960 through 1980, versus the current day generation, I have made some changes as I wished to go back a little further downstream to my childhood days in England during the 1930s and early 1940s, versus the life of today’s generation in the United States.

Then: (The way we were).

• Our baby cots and most other painted articles within licking or chewing distance were covered with lead-based paint, which according to current generation of doctors and scientists would have been lethal.
  

• We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, or latches on door cabinets, or devices to prevent us sticking metal objects into electrical outlets.

• Many items were made of asbestos material, (which in today’s world is declared a hazardous material), and we probably ingested large amounts of asbestos dust particles and survived.

• We rode bicycles without helmets, and those amongst us who’s family owned a motor vehicle, travelled without seat belts or airbags without suffering dire consequences.
  Of course there certainly wasn’t the volume of traffic in those days that there is in today’s world.

• We walked, or cycled, to school and to friend’s homes and didn’t rely upon parents driving us the short distance and picking us up afterwards.

• We climbed trees, played rough games, went swimming in lakes and forbidden reservoirs, got cuts and bruises without lawsuits, had very occasional fist fights without killing anyone, and did not have repercussions by being persecuted or prosecuted by the parents of our adversaries. The idea of parents bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of - in fact they sided with the law, as the long arm of the law was a respected institution.

• Working class people generally lived in "Coronation Street" type terraced houses, in which it was common to have outside toilets and no bathrooms. Bath night was Friday night, when an tin bath was placed in front of the kitchen fire and hot water was poured into it for one and sundry to bathe in.

• In Elementary school we endured the infamous "Eleven Plus" examination which determined the future path of the individual as to whether he/she would terminate their education at fourteen years of age and be doomed to work in unskilled jobs, or on the other hand be lucky enough to gain acceptance to a Grammar School educational establishment.
  The elevated education provided by the Grammar Schools allowed the person upon completion of their basic studies to compete for a higher educational path leading to a professional environment. Being selected for acceptance to College or University was the prerogative in general of the offspring of middle and higher class families, and it was exceptional in those days for a working class child to enter a College or University.

• Most of our lives we drank water from lead pipes, (which in those days was an integral part of the plumbing in most houses), or even drank water that came from garden hoses, and not from bottles, and we didn’t get poisoned.

• We shared drinks out of the same bottle with friends and did not suffered any after effects.

• We ate fried fish and chips when ever they were available, and bread liberally spread with dripping, drank fizzy pop, and didn’t get overweight as most of our endeavours which required physical exertion such as running, walking, cycling and active participation in sporting events.

• We had a very reduced diet due to the severe rationing of all foodstuffs, which lasted all through World War Two and was still in existence until 1954, nine years after the war finished.
  

• Rationing included all types of foodstuffs, clothing, petroleum products and many other things, which could only be obtained by giving up coupons from a ration book.

• We had blackout curtains at all windows, (which were installed as darkness approached), to prevent being targeted by German bomber aircraft, and the headlights of all automobiles had a cover on them with a small slit in the centre which emitted a very small amount of illumination.

• We slept many, many, nights in Air Raid Shelters to avoid the catastrophic bombing by German aircraft using incendiary and high explosive bombs, which virtually destroyed complete cities with very heavy civilian casualties. Many people awoke the morning after a bombing raid and found themselves amongst smoking ruins where houses once stood and friends had once lived.

• During school holidays, and weekends, we would leave home in the early morning to play games of football, cricket, and cycle to far away places, or wander the moors, and nobody worried as long as we got back home before dusk.

• We entertained ourselves, as we didn’t have play stations, video games, or a large number of garbage channels of TV to watch, and we didn’t have mobile phones to contact anyone with, and no Internet chat rooms.

• Many households didn’t have a telephone or a television, as black and white television had just appeared upon the scene, but we did have radios providing news, music, and many other means of entertainment.

• We attended movie theatres that had double feature films and an interval between the films where a Wurlitzer organ arose onto the stage and an organist, such as the renowned Reginald Dixon, entertained the audience whilst they purchased ice cream, (if available), from two young ladies who stood with trays in front of the stage. Pathe Gazette Movie-tone news provided us with updated news items as to how we were winning, (or losing), the war. Very civilized.
  Of course in addition to the cinemas there were the Vaudeville theatres with their comedic shows and Big Band performances, and we must not forget the legitimate theatres with their magnificent renderings of many of the finest dramas of the day.

• Very few families had automobiles, and if they did they were generally one car households - so what did we do - we either walked or took public transportation to whereever we were going, (trams, buses, trains), which in those days was readily available and reasonably priced.

• We were taught to treat people fairly and honestly and discipline started in the home and continued throughout the individual’s school life where the teachers reigned supreme.

• We were taught to respect other people’s property and above all to show respect and not challenge the wisdom our elders.

• We were involved in physical sports of all kinds and penalised heavily for any action on the sports field that contravened the rules of the game and were considered a danger to our opponents.

• We had freedom, failure, success, responsibility, and we learned to deal with everyday occurrences on an equitable and civilized basis.

• But above and beyond everything we had the greatest of luck to grow up as real kids, (before lawyers and governments regulated our lives for our own good), and for such we have to be very grateful.

I do not apologise for any of the above statements, as I firmly believe that my generation produced some of the best disciplined and some of the most normal children of the 20th Century even though we suffered through very difficult times during World War Two we went on to become part of a society which became known as the "Worlds Greatest Generation"

Now: (The way they are).
Let me now turn to observations of the current American generation, and as I have a very strong belief that the shaping of a child’s life begins in the home and continues throughout their educational years I have included some views on the subject of American education, followed later with another pet subject of mine the fostering of a stricter code of discipline and ethics both in the home and in the schools.

• American children are faced with a society that makes laws but does not enforce many of them and consequently many young people suffer from a lack of discipline and have become accustomed to doing whatever they want to do whenever it suits their own self interests.
  But as you will see in the following notes, American children have to face many disturbing situations that were unheard of in my day.

• They have to face up to daily occurrences of children being abducted and in a number of cases murdered.

• They are faced with the problems of the distribution of website pornography and the ever present paedophile predators.

• Unless parental controls are strict, children can be bombarded from an early age with explicit sexual situations portrayed on websites, certain TV programs, magazines, and movies, and unfortunately they see only the pleasures of sexual situations and none of the pitfalls.

• The terrible disease of AIDS has existed since they were born - and many of today’s generation, especially those in our inner cities were born with AIDS.

• Many of the American youth of today believe that going to College or University is a right and not an honour given for excelling in academic subjects. Unfortunately quite a large number of young pupils never complete their High School education, and therefore never get their "General Certificate of Education", (GCE), due in many cases to dropping out of school. Some then complain bitterly about the lack of opportunity, or even blame racial inequality for preventing them from obtaining a higher education.
  Excellent educational opportunities are readily available within the United States, and in order to take advantage of those educational opportunities one has to study hard in order to achieve a good education. In all fairness, if the parents do not express an interest in their offspring’s education how can their offspring be expected to buck the trend and become educated - it really is a sad situation in today’s world.

• They can never imagine life without computers and the Internet, and are wizards from an early age at doing all kinds of magic with computers and other electronic gadgets.

• They can never understand how anyone could leave home without a cell phone.

• They can never believe that black and white television sets ever existed and don’t even know how to turn on a TV without a remote control.

• For many of the current generation there has only been one Germany and one Vietnam.

• Many believe that Michael Jackson has always been white.

• Unfortunately they have been taught that the American way of life is the only way of life and that American type democracy should be embraced by all nations.

• The youth of America have been subjected to the ways of the modern world and have suffered great harm in living in an environment of being faced with corruption in high places, having being lied to by their government, and having to go to war for the wrong reasons and die in the process to protect American oil interests.

• Above and beyond everything else, many of today’s American youth have forgotten how to react with dignity and intelligence to the laws of the land as written in of one of the greatest documents ever produced, the "United States Constitution", and have in many cases contravened the laws set down in that excellent document. Very sad.

My Comments:
I admit to generalising in some of the comments made and I apologize profusely to the many well adjusted children, brought up in the homes of many well disciplined families, who have been fortunate to attend highly disciplined schools and who have become shining examples to the American current generation and are setting an example to the population at large.
It is hoped that the young people who have been fortunate enough to obtain a good education will be destined to be the future leaders of American society.

I also must express my recognition of the frustrations of the families of children living in the inner cities who although recognising the importance of education in today’s world are faced on an everyday basis with the pitfalls that their children are encumbered with. These parents must praised for their endurance in trying to discipline their children and must also be given aid wherever needed, from whatever source, in order to achieve their objectives of keeping their children in school and getting them educated.

For the children, I have not only words of encouragement but also words of criticism - if you don’t heed these words and do not make an effort to discipline yourselves and get an education then many of you will be doomed to a life time of menial jobs, life in the ghetto, or worse still serving long term jail sentences for crimes which you alone maybe responsible for.
Believe me, I know what I’m talking about. As a young child, orphaned at the age of thirteen years of age, and being faced with the deprivations of wartime Britain I sought the only way out that I could think of to escape my environment was by enlisting for seven years in the British Armed Forces.
Note: For obvious reasons, (considering the current volatile world situation), this is "NOT" a recommendation that anyone should go rushing down to the military recruiting office.

During the seven years that I served with the British Armed Forces I tried to absorb as much general education as was made available, and at 24 years of age, upon completing my contract and earning an honourable discharge, I obtained a Government sponsored one year full time, (forty hours per week), fully paid for crash course in Mechanical Engineering and also enrolled in a five year course of evening classes which finally earned me the American equivalent of a Bachelors degree. So you see, it is not impossible if you set your sights high enough and you dedicate and discipline yourself to achieving your objectives, it can be done. It takes a lot of personal effort, sacrifice, and dedication, but it is all very worthwhile. So don’t tell me it can’t be done, because it can!

Let us let us take a look at the reactions of older generation to the modern generation.
In general we are always surprised when we see young children who have a better grasp of computer technology than their fathers and mothers, and who can talk incessantly on a cell phones whilst tackling complex computer software problems with an ease that is devastating to the less than computer literate older generation.

We welcome feedback about any of the contents of these newsletters. Please send all correspondence to bill_sykes@huddersfield1.co.uk

Readers Letters.

60th Anniversary of the End of WWII.

Then And Now (How Things Change).

The Plot Thickens.

Updated Notes On The Middle East.

Spend, Spend, Spend.

Last Word/Disclaimer.