Where Have All The Good Times Gone?

[ThatRobGuy]

Am I imagining it or have the news articles and headlines become more negative. It seemed as when Joe Biden was in office there was an aire of happiness in alot of the news stories and the only negative stories were coming from Fox News and their conservative companions. Now, practically every news feed I have on my computer is either someone famous dying, shootings all over the US and in other countries, nations arguing about taxes, immigrants or some other political dilemma, economic turmoil, war.

Symptom of lopsided major media outlets (in favor of the left) and the right being divided.

Given that most of the major media outlets lean left, coverage will always be more negative (overall) when a republican is in office...that's a given.


However, I'm still a firm believer in the Penn Jillette quote
"Two things are always true: 1) things are always getting better 2) people always seem to think things are getting worse"


The instant gratification culture has led people to the conclusion that "not getting everything I want by tomorrow" is somehow evidence "regression"


...but in reality, is there any group (majority, minority, marginalized, or otherwise) that would be better off if this was 1950-1980?

I'm having a hard time thinking of a group apart from perhaps people in the asbestos industry.

 

[rambot]

I'm aware of hyperbole and sensationalism when I see it going on.

You clearly and truly don't.

 

[ozso]

You clearly and truly don't.

Then I must be a leftist.

 

[SimplyMe]

Maybe it is because I try to stay away from cable news, or just tend to look at a variety of news sources but I remember plenty of negative stories while Biden was President. The main stories I recall that were negative were about inflation and gas prices but there were others (including his health, "the Biden crime family," etc.).

I question if "cable news" can even be called news anymore, regardless if you are talking of CNN, OAN, Fox, MSNBC, etc. At best (and if at all) they might spend a couple of minutes at the top of the hour "reading the news" but the rest of the time (if not the entire hour) it is the host telling you their spin on the news, how you should feel about it, etc. The US would be a far better place if people would quit watching cable "news" entirely.

 

[rambot]

Then I must be a leftist.

Doesnt matter what label you choose we can read the posts ourselves.

 

[ozso]

Doesnt matter what label you choose we can read the posts ourselves.

And after reading them some deny and or are blind to the existence of hyperbole and sensationalism.

 

[7thKeeper]

...but in reality, is there any group (majority, minority, marginalized, or otherwise) that would be better off if this was 1950-1980?

I'm having a hard time thinking of a group apart from perhaps people in the asbestos industry.

Financially, I do believe the American middle class would be better off during, at least the majority, of that time period.

 

[ozso]

I blew this off and I apologize.

Imagine Biden or Obama pushing perfumes, selling memecoins

That's not their style. One of the things people like about the President is he's not a cookie cutter career politician. It's exactly the sort of thing voters expected based on his first presidency.

and telling Musk that he may return to his home in South Africa.

Musk started a feud. The President fights back. Some cry "bully" and others see a President with a backbone who's not to be trifled with.

Angrily attacking judges, courts (even of other countries), media, journalists, creating hateful nicknames and labels for political opponents and using them every time...

That's a two way street. Usually it happens when someone attacks and or goes against him. I hear/read hateful nicknames and insults against the President all the time. It's a classic case of 'it's okay and justified when they do it, but just awful when he does it". A classic case of they can't take their own medicine.

In addition to that, it's coming from a party that wants to emasculate men. It wants soft spoken milquetoast effeminate men and school boys in dresses.

These things are somehow normalized among MAGA ("Trump will always be Trump"). But to other people, things really look worse than before.

Or they're over dramatized by the left. Hence why I call it hyperbole and sensationalism. He's deporting illegal aliens . So did Obama and Biden. He's bombing Iran . Obama bombed Libya. Trump's ICE is wearing masks and tactical gear and rounding up ("kidnapping") illegal aliens and putting them in unmarked vans . That's exactly the same way Obama and Biden's ICE dressed and operated.

 

[trophy33]

I blew this off and I apologize.

That's not their style. One of the things people like about the President is he's not a cookie cutter career politician. It's exactly the sort of thing voters expected based on his first presidency.

Musk started a feud. The President fights back. Some cry "bully" and others see a President with a backbone who's not to be trifled with.

That's a two way street. Usually it happens when someone attacks and or goes against him. I hear/read hateful nicknames and insults against the President all the time. It's a classic case of 'it's okay and justified when they do it, but just awful when he does it". A classic case of they can't take their own medicine.

In addition to that, it's coming from a party that wants to emasculate men. It want's soft spoken milquetoast effeminate men and school boys in dresses.

Or they're over dramatized by the left. Hence why I call it hyperbole and sensationalism. He's deporting illegal aliens . So did Obama and Biden. He's bombing Iran . Obama bombed Libya. Trump's ICE is wearing masks and tactical gear and rounding up ("kidnapping") illegal aliens and putting them in unmarked vans . That's exactly the same way Obama and Biden's ICE dressed and operated.

The problem with your post is that it is a damage control. It is about loyalty to Trump, so you are defending him (or rather talking about "them" instead of Trump) instead of honestly criticizing him for obvious wrong doing.

This is where checks and balances fail to stop bad behavior of somebody who is in power. People do not dare to think critically about "their own". And this is why the political culture in the USA is so extremist and surreal. Those in power are surrounded by sycophants and therefore do not need to change.

 

[Larniavc]

Maybe, that is the key—love is in decline.

The key is the economic and social apparatus at play that concentrates wealth in the hands of a lucky and/or ruthless few.

That key has been turned and broken off in the lock, too.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Financially, I do believe the American middle class would be better off during, at least the majority, of that time period.

The definition of "middle class" has changed quite a bit over time...

In that era:
4-5 people sharing an 1100 sq ft home
Very little dining out
One car for the family to share
One TV
Life expectancy of 64
HS graduation rates of around 60%

...and where the occupational hallmark of the time was tough factory labor?

I think there's something of a misplaced fondness for that era based on the sole metrics of "there was more unionization" and "the CEO to Employee pay gap was smaller"

 

[Jerry N.]

The key is the economic and social apparatus at play that concentrates wealth in the hands of a lucky and/or ruthless few.

That key has been turned and broken off in the lock, too.

I was writing about more general views, but you are right about the economy. I’m too lazy to look up the article again, but in the 1950s to the early 1970s, the gap between CEOs and the like and the working class was less than a factor of 20-30. Now, the difference is in the hundreds. It started to really spread in the 1980s. A working class salary is in the thousands, and the CEO salary is in the tens of millions. The gap is growing every year. The article I saw before was more detailed but this page is close: CEOs at big US companies make 276 times as much as the average worker

 

[ozso]

The problem with your post is that it is a damage control. It is about loyalty to Trump, so you are defending him (or rather talking about "them" instead of Trump) instead of honestly criticizing him for obvious wrong doing.

This is where checks and balances fail to stop bad behavior of somebody who is in power. People do not dare to think critically about "their own". And this is why the political culture in the USA is so extremist and surreal. Those in power are surrounded by sycophants and therefore do not need to change.

Actually what you got was a counter argument by way of critical reasoning. Perhaps that lead to a bitter pill to swallow.

 

[rambot]

And after reading them some deny and or are blind to the existence of hyperbole and sensationalism.

Why keep giving descriptors instead of evidence to support your point?

 

[ozso]

Why keep giving descriptors instead of evidence to support your point?

Why not debate my opinion instead of delivering the overused and ridiculous "evidence of opinion" deflection? If that's not on the list of logical fallacies, it should be.

 

[Chesterton]

However, I'm still a firm believer in the Penn Jillette quote
"Two things are always true: 1) things are always getting better 2) people always seem to think things are getting worse"

That's a strange quote to be a firm believer in. Some things get better, some things get worse.

...but in reality, is there any group (majority, minority, marginalized, or otherwise) that would be better off if this was 1950-1980?

Um, school children maybe? They tended not to get shot to death at school so much back then.

 

[Larniavc]

Why not debate my opinion instead of delivering the overused and ridiculous "evidence of opinion" deflection? If that's not on the list of logical fallacies, it should be.

You can’t debate an opinion. You can debate the validity of an opinion by examining the evidence.

 

[Larniavc]

Um, school children maybe? They tended not to get shot to death at school so much back then.

To be fair that’s mostly an American thing, mostly.

 

[Chesterton]

To be fair that’s mostly an American thing, mostly.

My point is, "things" aren't always getting better.

 

[durangodawood]

My point is, "things" aren't always getting better.

I thusly refute thee.