Would we have been happier in 1914 than 2014?

[Teal Lantern]

Do you ever wonder how people must have felt at the beginning of the 20th Century, having lived through the 19th Century? They must have looked at the new century with optimism, just like we are now.

Sorry for hypothesizing so much, but as a history buff who watches a lot of historical films, I can't help but wonder about this sometimes.

Buff up a bit more, Yellow Peril.
Fewer history films, and more history books.

[Cornfed]

How was casual sex back in 1914?

It was there if you knew where to find it. It was at about that time that my great grandfather took a break from his marriage and went and f***ed a bunch of black chicks down country. He impregnated several of them and surprisingly they gave the kids his name. He was by all accounts a violent, drunken (albeit talented) scumbag, so he was popular with the ladies, even then.

[Vegascook]

As far as the ideal time to live in the US it would probably have been the 1950's. America was at the apex of our civilization, good paying jobs were plentiful, medical care was good as well as affordable, and women were at home taking care of the family. I disagree with your assessment of 1914. Our cities were unclean with all kinds of garbage laying around (including human excrement). The food was contaminated by rodent feces, germs, and industrial toxins if it was processed in the cities. There was no FDA to ensure healthy quality food and the only way to get decent food was to be a farmer or well off enough to buy off of a reputable merchant or the farmers themselves. The US entered WWI towards the end of that decade, the draft was used, and you were imprisoned for refusal. There were no unions that were recognized by the government since they were labeled as communist in origin so good paying jobs were scarce. Penicillin and sulfa drugs hadn't been invented yet, so there were many diseases that could kill you. The global influenza pandemic was also about that time and a significant percentage of the human population died off. If I were to choose a point in US history I would go with post WWII, there were so many opportunities and it was good to be a man then.

Now if I were to pick the ideal time outside of US history I think I would go with 1066AD. First off this is the point in history in which written accounts of my family began. My ancestors fought for William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings, distinguished themselves in battle, became knights, and were granted lands as well as titles. I've always felt that I was born in the wrong damn century, so my ideal choice would definitely not be the 20th century. Lords and knights had it good back then: wealth, power, prestige, honor, and women wanting you because you were the alpha male with the steel to prove it. When I attended UC in 1995 some idiot grad student tried to impress a woman by challenging me to a sparring match during the Middle Ages expo the School of History had going on. We both dressed up as knights, chose our weapons, picked up a shield, and went at it. This jackass thought he'd win quick and easy since he had 10 years experience with this. The match ended when I smashed my shield into his face, bitch slapped him with my steel gauntlet, and head bunted him with my helmet. There weren't any paramedics nearby to stop his nose from bleeding, so two of the nursing student each stuffed a Tampon up one of his nostrils. Ever seen a grown man with two bloody Tampons sticking out of his nose ..... it's so damn funny to see. I liked the adrenalin rush of fighting in the armor and using the mace. Another thing I liked was the double date that I talked the nursing students into. I ended up looking like a stud; leaving with two women, while the other guy got a trip to the hospital. While I enjoy modern technology I would feel more in my element wearing plate armor and kicking a little ass now and then.

[momopi]

...was the other guy a SCA member? hehehehe.

http://www.sca.org/

[Vegascook]

Actually momopi I think he might have been in the organization. He was all dressed up as the white knight and playing the role for all it was worth. He challenged me and said I had the option of being the black knight. The girl we were both competing for said "He thinks he's good at this so don't be too rough on him", my reply was that he played nice I would too. The asshole started fighting dirty after I easily disarmed him a couple of times so I decided to mess him up. I got the girl and one of her friends from class, he got to bleed.

[Winston]

Enjoy your poverty, lack of antibiotics and really anything resembling useful medicine, painfully long working hours, and lack of almost anything resembling modern convenience, from supermarket supply chains to decent roads.

Are you talking about then or now?

Anyone volunteering to be a part of The Lost Generation is obviously a fool. Yeah, lets all wish we had to go through fighting a world war then survive a catastrophic great depression.

And we currently are not lacking all of the things I mentioned, at least in my state. Roads are good, modern conveniences abound, Ivy league medical care, and an average work week that is less than half the hours a member of the middle class worked in 1914. Oh right, also an annual income in the top 5 amongst states of the US. I'd say weve got it pretty damn good compared to 2014.

Comfort and conveniences do not equal happiness. In America you sacrifice happiness for comfort and conveniences. It's a paradox. You are thinking too narrow and you don't seem to understand happiness. Did you read my list of pros in 1914? You could buy a house for like 900 dollars or something back then.

The long hours in the good old days is a myth. Factories might have required long hours. But people on farms worked according to season. They had a whole season off, or several months. And ancient people worked less and partied a lot more. The average guy didn't have a problem finding a wife or women for short term pleasure. In Ancient Rome and Greece, average men never had trouble meeting or courting women. Read the literature and accounts from those days.

In many ways, the industrial revolution was a trojan horse. It promised wealth, prosperity and conveniences. But it also brought a mechanical soulless lifestyle of enslavement, where people are like soulless robots, and isolated from others. It didn't necessarily bring happiness. Having lots of conveniences but no social connection with others doesn't make one happy. It makes one miserable and try to get pleasure out of consumerism.

How about 1814 then? Back then, most of America was unsettled. You could claim lands and meet lots of Indian tribes. You could go to Europe and meet Napoleon too. lol

[Vegascook]

I like idea of taking it back a century. Practical steam engines hadn't been invented yet so nearly everything was made by hand with the exception of windmills and watermills that produced capital goods such as lumber and milled grains. Mechanization allowed the Robber Barons to build large fortunes on the backs of the poor during the first several decades of the Industrial Revolution. This trend didn't begin to change until the 1917 Revolution in Russia along with insurrections that occurred within western nations. A prime example in the US was the Battle of Blair Mountain in which 10,000 coal miners literally went to war against the coal companies who were exploiting them. I think Winston has the right idea going with a point in time in which the economy was largely agrarian in nature. There was plenty of wilderness for nonconformists to claim, settle, and establish their own communities. If you didn't like the area you were in you could push west and find your fortune if you were willing to work hard. A successful farmer who owned a decent amount of land (20-40 acres back then) could easily find a wife. Less than 5 acres of that land would feed your family and a small amount of livestock, the rest you traded for things you couldn't produce on the farm. Now it sucks; you have all levels of government and their alphabet soup agencies telling you what you can and cannot do with your property, from the federal government down to the county level they tax the hell out of you, and the rich own 95% of America..... essentially there's little upward mobility for most people and yet we have this farce "opportunity." I like the core idea of what Winston is trying to say: People were happier when life was simpler. Historical documentation such as autobiographies and letters tend to back up this argument as well. The more technologically advanced we have become the more miserable we get because the humanity is gradually being taken out of our civilization.

[momopi]

The long hours in the good old days is a myth. Factories might have required long hours. But people on farms worked according to season. They had a whole season off, or several months. And ancient people worked less and partied a lot more. The average guy didn't have a problem finding a wife or women for short term pleasure. In Ancient Rome and Greece, average men never had trouble meeting or courting women. Read the literature and accounts from those days.

For Ancient Greece, that depends on your social-economic status as a Citizen, Metic, or Slave. Around 317 BC in Attica (Athens area), there were approx. 21,000 Greek citizens, 10,000 Metics, and 40,000 Slaves. It was a classed society and there was no such thing as "average joe".

If you were a wealthy citizen, you owned slaves and did not need to work. You kept the best female slaves in your house to take care of your needs. You sent the male slaves to work in the fields and mines. Any children born from a female slave inherit the same status as the mother, unless if you wish to free them, in such case they become Metic class (without citizen rights). You did not want your male and female slaves to mix and have children, because it was cheaper to buy slaves than to raise one.

If you were a male slave, you might be working at the silver mines of Laurium, or one of the ore processing mills. It has been estimated that there were 30,000 slaves working the Laurium mines and its associated mills. The workers were almost exclusively male, you worked regardless of the seasons. As Aristotle stated, the daily routine of a slave is "work, discipline (flogging), and feeding".

In Ancient Rome, approx. 40% of the population were slaves, and unlike the Greeks, a freed slave could become a citizen. However, in terms of the "wealth gap", approx. 50% of the slaves were owned by 1.5% of the citizen population, which represented a much wider wealth gap vs Ancient Greece. So just as people say "1% vs 99%" today, back then they probably said "1.5% vs 98.5%" or something.

[Winston]

Another thing I've noticed that in the early 20th Century, clothes looked more artistic, creative and romantic. It had character and style. But starting in the 1950's, clothes began looking conformist and bland, like the typical suburban culture. They were no longer as artistic and romantic.

In the 20th Century, romanticism began going away in favor of robotic unfeeling mechanical lifestyle. Before that, clothes always looked romantic and artistic. Even in the Middle Ages, clothes were very colorful, artistic and exciting, like in the Robin Hood stories.

I would have enjoyed clothes a lot more in the ancient world. In modern America clothes are no longer as imaginative and creative as they were in the last few thousand years. Romanticism is gone in modern America. It's not even in the movies. Modern Americans consider romanticism to be outdated in the cold unfeeling robotic mechanical modern world. They believe that one should always conform to whatever is modern, even if it sucks and is soulless. I disagree with most Americans on that.

[Halwick]

Enjoy your poverty, lack of antibiotics and really anything resembling useful medicine, painfully long working hours, and lack of almost anything resembling modern convenience, from supermarket supply chains to decent roads.

Fully agree with Mr. HouseMD, who has the most realistic assessment of 1914. Winston and the rest has a romantic view of that era and none of the reality that goes along with it.

I've known people, including my grandfather who lived during those times.

To expand on HouseMD's comments:

First of all, no computers, cell phones and other smart devices existed; 110v/60cycle electricity was not in widespread use. Have you given serious thought whether you could get along without convenient appliances and smart devices we have today?

Entertainment: There was no TV, cell phones or internet. Radio was in it's infancy and only the rich could afford it. No stereos, CDs or DVDs. Phonograph records (ever hear of 78rpm?) had very low fidelity. Movies were silent and black & white. You folks would be bored out of your skulls.

Communication: Telephone was very primitive and not available to everyone. People wrote in those days. Snail mail not very reliable as they didn't have zip codes. People today used to instant messaging would be able to cope with the speed of communication back then.

Work and wages: Would you be willing to work for $2/DAY (source: http://www.nber.org/chapters/c2287.pdf ) for 6 days/week for 10 hours/day under harsh conditions? There were hardly any labor laws to protect workers back then. If you had a job, you pretty much had to do what the boss tells you to do, otherwise be fired. The boss was THE AUTHORITY. Most of you with your anti-authoritarian and free-spirit thinking would immediately be labeled as "Wobblies" -- union trouble makers and blacklisted. Very oppressive working rules. Companies weren't as understanding and tolerant as they are today.

Transportation:
- Automobiles (a Model T Ford, one of the cheapest cars then, cost around $500) were still expensive for the average wage earner in those days. The cars in those days were very primitive: Had to be started by crank (not easy), had manual steering, brakes, suspension very rough and hard riding. No air conditioning or rollup windows, windshield wipers and not weatherproof. No radio/CD player/mp3 players. Top speed around 40 mph. Autos didn't have emission controls and safety features either.
(Winston, you think you have troubles with your Avalon, I wonder how you would coped with automobiles of that era. You REALLY had to be able to fix autos to keep them running.)
- Horses & Carriage: In rural areas, they were still the main form of transportation. Horses didn't have pollution emission controls.
- Airplanes: No commercial airlines or airplanes existed back then. If you wanted to go across state or country you'd have to take the train.
- Trains: Passenger trains were uncomfortable and didn't have air conditioning. Trains were pulled by steam locomotives that used coal for fuel and emitted very dirty, black smoke. It was not uncommon for passengers' clothes to have smoke soot on them. To travel from New York to California would take weeks.
- Ships: Only the wealthy could afford to go Abroad. Unless you went by steerage, which was pretty uncomfortable.

Home conveniences? Hardly. Since electricity was still rare, except in city, homes in the suburbs and rural areas still relied on gas lighting and heating. Running water and toilets were a luxury. No refrigerators. No air conditioners. No automatic washers and dryers. No microwave ovens.

Food: There was no Fast food and instant ready-made mixes or ramen noodles or TV dinners. Everything had to be made from scratch. No preservatives; Sanitary food handling that we take for granted today didn't exist back then.

Medicine and hospitals: Very primitive. I'd hate to get sick or have surgery at that time. Cold remedies, aspirin, Penicillin, antibiotics and other convenient OTC medication didn't exist. Veterinarians today have more medical knowledge than doctors in 1914. Bacteria and germs weren't handled effectively back then. If you were around in 1914, then you surely would have been around in 1918 when the Black Plague hit the country. Doctor at that time didn't know how to handle that epidemic or any epidemics that came along.

Consumerism didn't exist. No laws to protect the consumers; No product warranties either. It was all BUYER BEWARE. Bought a defective product? Tough!

The anti-authoritarian / anti-establishment / free-thinking / libertarian attitudes that HA's have would be completely outside the accepted way of thinking back then. You would be considered revolutionaries and dangerous radicals. The police back then handled troublemakers brutally. Even if you dressed, acted or talked and expressed different (by standards during those times) ideas you would be considered suspect and could be arrested on the spot. The ACLU didn't existence to protect your "rights". There were no Miranda rights either.

Free sex / casual sex: The society back then was a very, very restrictive and tight-lipped society. Sex just wasn't discussed, even privately among "decent" people. Holding hands and kissing in public were frowned upon. You couldn't even look at a woman's "limbs" (that's how arms and legs were described back then). Anything other than missionary sex was considered deviant. Even the whores in the red light districts would be shocked by what you guys know and you would probably be considered sex criminals and locked up.

The society was very segregationist and racists, even in the North. The Black, Yellow and Brown and Red races were expected to know their place and were not allowed to fraternize and associate with the Whites. In the South it was illegal to date and marry outside of your race. I've read how you, Zboy1 and others HAs feel oppressed in today's America. You guys would have felt even more oppressed and restricted in 1914.

These are just a few examples of what 1914 America was like. And I haven't even scratched the surface and I'll bet there's a lot of things I've missed too. Believe, me, it wasn't as pretty and romantic and fun as you guys think. And I don't think life in 1914 Europe or Asia were any better back then either. No, I don't think any of us would be "happier" in 1914.

[jamesbond]

Another thing I've noticed that in the early 20th Century, clothes looked more artistic, creative and romantic. It had character and style. But starting in the 1950's, clothes began looking conformist and bland, like the typical suburban culture. They were no longer as artistic and romantic.

In the 20th Century, romanticism began going away in favor of robotic unfeeling mechanical lifestyle. Before that, clothes always looked romantic and artistic. Even in the Middle Ages, clothes were very colorful, artistic and exciting, like in the Robin Hood stories.

I love watching movies that are set in the 1800's and early 1900's. The clothes and character of the people is much more refined and dignified than the way people dress and behave today.

That's why I enjoy watching movies like "The Illusionist" and Hammer films (which most were set in the Victorian era). The Illusionist was filmed in Prague. Here is the full movie of the Illusionist. It is an exquisite movie and if you love the Victorian area, you will absolutely love this film!

[Cornfed]

Work and wages: Would you be willing to work for $2/DAY (source: http://www.nber.org/chapters/c2287.pdf ) for 6 days/week for 10 hours/day under harsh conditions? There were hardly any labor laws to protect workers back then. If you had a job, you pretty much had to do what the boss tells you to do, otherwise be fired. The boss was THE AUTHORITY. Most of you with your anti-authoritarian and free-spirit thinking would immediately be labeled as "Wobblies" -- union trouble makers and blacklisted. Very oppressive working rules. Companies weren't as understanding and tolerant as they are today.

Surely the situation is roughly the opposite of what you say. In 1914 the 40 hour work week was becoming standard across the Western world. Today it is a distant memory. Today most productive workers have no rights and can be fired for any reason or no reason at all, have their lives ruined by the mere accusation of some pig slut at the worksite, are subjected to invasive personal searches in the form of drug tests, are bullied by bull dyke HR slags and other horrible freaks etc. In addition to being forced to work long hours, some of the "better" jobs require their victims to be on a cellphone leash, extending effective working hours to 24/7. If workers are not deliriously happy with this, then instead of asserting their rights, as in the past, they are encouraged to pathologise their own objections and drug themselves into submission.

The society was very segregationist and racists, even in the North. The Black, Yellow and Brown and Red races were expected to know their place and were not allowed to fraternize and associate with the Whites. In the South it was illegal to date and marry outside of your race.

Yes, there was a prevailing functional culture which people of other cultures had to fit in with or GTFO. This is the formula that works. Dysfunctional counter cultures were not being encouraged to destroy society by the elite, as they are today. In particular, inferior subspecies such as blacks were not allowed to run amok in human society and had functional norms imposed on them, so the situation was way better back then.

[Halwick]

Work and wages: Would you be willing to work for $2/DAY (source: http://www.nber.org/chapters/c2287.pdf ) for 6 days/week for 10 hours/day under harsh conditions? There were hardly any labor laws to protect workers back then. If you had a job, you pretty much had to do what the boss tells you to do, otherwise be fired. The boss was THE AUTHORITY. Most of you with your anti-authoritarian and free-spirit thinking would immediately be labeled as "Wobblies" -- union trouble makers and blacklisted. Very oppressive working rules. Companies weren't as understanding and tolerant as they are today.

Surely the situation is roughly the opposite of what you say. In 1914 the 40 hour work week was becoming standard across the Western world. Today it is a distant memory. Today most productive workers have no rights and can be fired for any reason or no reason at all, have their lives ruined by the mere accusation of some pig slut at the worksite, are subjected to invasive personal searches in the form of drug tests, are bullied by bull dyke HR slags and other horrible freaks etc. In addition to being forced to work long hours, some of the "better" jobs require their victims to be on a cellphone leash, extending effective working hours to 24/7. If workers are not deliriously happy with this, then instead of asserting their rights, as in the past, they are encouraged to pathologise their own objections and drug themselves into submission.

The society was very segregationist and racists, even in the North. The Black, Yellow and Brown and Red races were expected to know their place and were not allowed to fraternize and associate with the Whites. In the South it was illegal to date and marry outside of your race.

Yes, there was a prevailing functional culture which people of other cultures had to fit in with or GTFO. This is the formula that works. Dysfunctional counter cultures were not being encouraged to destroy society by the elite, as they are today. In particular, inferior subspecies such as blacks were not allowed to run amok in human society and had functional norms imposed on them, so the situation was way better back then.

So you think the working environment in 1914 was a "kinder and gentler and less harsh" environment compared to 2014, eh? B.S. You have a poor grasp of history. You're still looking at things with 20/20 hindsight and today's mindset. And how about the exploitation of child labor back then? If things were indeed better back then as you say, there wouldn't have been any need for unions and labor laws.

I agree with you that a segregated society was better and more stable and less volatile society. Blacks as "inferior subspecies", eh? Is that your personal thinking or are you echoing the thinking back then? William Shockley proved that Negroes scored lower than Caucasians on IQ exams. But it can be argued that the IQ exams were oriented toward the Caucasian line of thinking, which also implied that Negroes had a different kind of intelligence and a different orientation.

[Winston]

Enjoy your poverty, lack of antibiotics and really anything resembling useful medicine, painfully long working hours, and lack of almost anything resembling modern convenience, from supermarket supply chains to decent roads.

Fully agree with Mr. HouseMD, who has the most realistic assessment of 1914. Winston and the rest has a romantic view of that era and none of the reality that goes along with it.

I've known people, including my grandfather who lived during those times.

To expand on HouseMD's comments:

First of all, no computers, cell phones and other smart devices existed; 110v/60cycle electricity was not in widespread use. Have you given serious thought whether you could get along without convenient appliances and smart devices we have today?

Entertainment: There was no TV, cell phones or internet. Radio was in it's infancy and only the rich could afford it. No stereos, CDs or DVDs. Phonograph records (ever hear of 78rpm?) had very low fidelity. Movies were silent and black & white. You folks would be bored out of your skulls.

Communication: Telephone was very primitive and not available to everyone. People wrote in those days. Snail mail not very reliable as they didn't have zip codes. People today used to instant messaging would be able to cope with the speed of communication back then.

Work and wages: Would you be willing to work for $2/DAY (source: http://www.nber.org/chapters/c2287.pdf ) for 6 days/week for 10 hours/day under harsh conditions? There were hardly any labor laws to protect workers back then. If you had a job, you pretty much had to do what the boss tells you to do, otherwise be fired. The boss was THE AUTHORITY. Most of you with your anti-authoritarian and free-spirit thinking would immediately be labeled as "Wobblies" -- union trouble makers and blacklisted. Very oppressive working rules. Companies weren't as understanding and tolerant as they are today.

Transportation:
- Automobiles (a Model T Ford, one of the cheapest cars then, cost around $500) were still expensive for the average wage earner in those days. The cars in those days were very primitive: Had to be started by crank (not easy), had manual steering, brakes, suspension very rough and hard riding. No air conditioning or rollup windows, windshield wipers and not weatherproof. No radio/CD player/mp3 players. Top speed around 40 mph. Autos didn't have emission controls and safety features either.
(Winston, you think you have troubles with your Avalon, I wonder how you would coped with automobiles of that era. You REALLY had to be able to fix autos to keep them running.)
- Horses & Carriage: In rural areas, they were still the main form of transportation. Horses didn't have pollution emission controls.
- Airplanes: No commercial airlines or airplanes existed back then. If you wanted to go across state or country you'd have to take the train.
- Trains: Passenger trains were uncomfortable and didn't have air conditioning. Trains were pulled by steam locomotives that used coal for fuel and emitted very dirty, black smoke. It was not uncommon for passengers' clothes to have smoke soot on them. To travel from New York to California would take weeks.
- Ships: Only the wealthy could afford to go Abroad. Unless you went by steerage, which was pretty uncomfortable.

Home conveniences? Hardly. Since electricity was still rare, except in city, homes in the suburbs and rural areas still relied on gas lighting and heating. Running water and toilets were a luxury. No refrigerators. No air conditioners. No automatic washers and dryers. No microwave ovens.

Food: There was no Fast food and instant ready-made mixes or ramen noodles or TV dinners. Everything had to be made from scratch. No preservatives; Sanitary food handling that we take for granted today didn't exist back then.

Medicine and hospitals: Very primitive. I'd hate to get sick or have surgery at that time. Cold remedies, aspirin, Penicillin, antibiotics and other convenient OTC medication didn't exist. Veterinarians today have more medical knowledge than doctors in 1914. Bacteria and germs weren't handled effectively back then. If you were around in 1914, then you surely would have been around in 1918 when the Black Plague hit the country. Doctor at that time didn't know how to handle that epidemic or any epidemics that came along.

Consumerism didn't exist. No laws to protect the consumers; No product warranties either. It was all BUYER BEWARE. Bought a defective product? Tough!

The anti-authoritarian / anti-establishment / free-thinking / libertarian attitudes that HA's have would be completely outside the accepted way of thinking back then. You would be considered revolutionaries and dangerous radicals. The police back then handled troublemakers brutally. Even if you dressed, acted or talked and expressed different (by standards during those times) ideas you would be considered suspect and could be arrested on the spot. The ACLU didn't existence to protect your "rights". There were no Miranda rights either.

Free sex / casual sex: The society back then was a very, very restrictive and tight-lipped society. Sex just wasn't discussed, even privately among "decent" people. Holding hands and kissing in public were frowned upon. You couldn't even look at a woman's "limbs" (that's how arms and legs were described back then). Anything other than missionary sex was considered deviant. Even the whores in the red light districts would be shocked by what you guys know and you would probably be considered sex criminals and locked up.

The society was very segregationist and racists, even in the North. The Black, Yellow and Brown and Red races were expected to know their place and were not allowed to fraternize and associate with the Whites. In the South it was illegal to date and marry outside of your race. I've read how you, Zboy1 and others HAs feel oppressed in today's America. You guys would have felt even more oppressed and restricted in 1914.

These are just a few examples of what 1914 America was like. And I haven't even scratched the surface and I'll bet there's a lot of things I've missed too. Believe, me, it wasn't as pretty and romantic and fun as you guys think. And I don't think life in 1914 Europe or Asia were any better back then either. No, I don't think any of us would be "happier" in 1914.

Halwick,
Your response is totally one-sided and imbalanced. If you were balanced, you'd mention both the pros and cons of modernization. Not just the pros. You can't claim that there are only pros and no cons. Come on now. We all know that.

Also, most of the stuff you mention is purely materialistic. Materialism does not create happiness, as we all know. Rich meaningful experiences and social relationships are what lead to happiness. We don't have that as much in the modernization of America.

You also made some logic fallacies. If we were in 1914 we would not miss the internet, computers or TV because we would not know of their existence. Duh. You can't assume that we would miss them if we never needed them. The introduction of them into society created the need for them. No one needed a computer or cell phone before. It's only after they became part of everyday life that we needed them. You didn't take that into account.

We would not have been bored to death back then since we would not have known the world in 2014. Come on now. We would have had live theater and barn dances to go to to meet women. And social events in town square. We could ask girls out without feeling like a creep or like it was a transgression. Girls would be flattered and giggle and blush.

Also, in the past most of us would not need to be freethinkers or nonconformists. We are only that way because of the emptiness and dissatisfaction and oppression of modern America. You see, if we were in a culture with social connection, meaningful relationships, friendly neighbors, inclusive people, good friends, great women, good values, etc. then we would be more fulfilled in a natural environment and not be so rebellious.

It's kind of like how in Europe, there is no big conspiracy theory subculture like there is in America, because Europe has more natural social connection. So people don't feel as empty and disconnected to the point where they need to start looking for conspiracies to blame.

Besides, even though you won't arrested for being a freethinker in modern America, you will still be ostracized, just as you would have been in the past if you were different. Today, people don't persecute you directly. They just ignore you.

The bottom line is that since the dawn of the 20th Century, America has been increasingly mechanized, robotic and regimented in its lifestyle and society. In 1914 people still acted like natural humans. In the 1980's, people began becoming greedy and soulless. If we were in 1914 we would not have the same problems because America was not a social hell back then. We could meet people, make quality friends, and ask women out without feeling like a creep.

With mechanization, America became less and less romantic. The best romantic movies were made between the 1930's and the 1980's. By the 1990's, romantic movies had become outdated in the cold practical world, according to American culture. In the 2000's, they were gone. There is no romanticism in American culture anymore. You are supposed to be a cold unfeeling robot. If not, there's something wrong with you. The movie "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" where humans were replaced with unfeeling soulless alien clones, has already happened.

The only thing that has improved since 1914 is technology and science. Everything else in every category has gone downhill. Think about it.

In 1914 houses were cheap. You could buy one or build one for a thousand dollars. Today they are outrageously expensive even though they only take a few days to build.

In 1914 the government was small too. It wasn't the huge monster that it is today. And you did not need a passport to travel.

Remember that during the 20th Century, the dollar lost 95 percent of its value. So the 2 dollar a day salary you mention wouldn't have been as bad as it sounds.

You talk about fast food as if it were a good thing. lol. Wtf? Fast food is what made Americans obese. Are you kidding? Food back then was more natural and wholesome. So what if it was made from scratch. Isn't that better?

As to cars, they were simpler back then and easier to fix. Parts were interchangeable. Today cars are too complex and electronic and more difficult and costly to repair.

Even in the 1950's, if you accidentally hit a car and damaged it, you could just give the person 50 dollars and that would settle it.

Horse and carriages have a romanticism to them. Why do you think they are offered in touristy areas? Because there is romanticism in them. There is nothing romantic in modern America. Since I'm big on romance and romanticism, this is a big issue with me.

Consider all these things. Don't look at everything from a one-sided materialistic standpoint. It's as if you only care about having conveniences rather than quality of life, happiness, relationships, etc. Do you?

What about 1814? At that time, the west was unsettled and Indians roamed the west freely. They were happier for sure. The buffalo roamed freely in large herds too. They were happier as well.

The 1800's was when America was wild and free.

[Halwick]

Winston, just how do you KNOW people were happier back in 1914? Have you ever read books and newspapers DIRECTLY from that period? What books did you read that were written by the contemporary authors of that time?

The "history" you've been reading and interpolating are based on modern day impressions by people who never lived in that era and had no first hand experience. They fallaciously conclude that the issues and items that contribute to poor quality of life today didn't exist back then, therefore the quality of life back then was better.

But they and "romanticists" like you don't take into account or acknowledge the realities of those times. You accuse me of being one sided. So are you. You only look at things through "rose color romanticized glasses" and ignores the realities of those times. I tried to point that out.

But you are probably right; if you didn't have knowledge, attitudes and mindset of present day 2014, and only knew and had the mindset the world of 1914, then you might be blissfully happier? (Is that why they say "ignorance is bliss"?)

It depends on which class status you are in. The picture of 1914 you paint depicts is a leisurely upper class 1914 and assumes the world at that time was like that. And I think you picture yourself as being part of that upper class. Remember, in 1914 there were only two classes: Poor and Upper. Furthermore, you have the mindset of a upper middle-class entrepreneurial Caucasian. If you were a part of the working class, the poor, or Negro or Oriental back then (which you certainly would be, given your ethnicity), I don't think, from that perspective, things are as wonderful as you think they are. Try looking at it from that perspective and tell me how wonderful things in 1914 were. Nor do I think you are equipped to handle a rough life like that, let alone 1814. I know I wouldn't be.

I remember an old Twilight Zone episode where a man from 1890 was unwittingly transported to 1960 via a time machine helmet. While in 1960, he encounters a man who is deeply unhappy with the world of 1960 (sound familiar?). So they both manage to go back 1890 and the modern man at first is ecstatic about how simplistic and wholesome 1890 is. Eventually he realizes things aren't as wonderful as he thought they would be and he couldn't cope with the problems and the primitiveness of those times.