At the age of 83, I hate nostalgia. I think it good that we understand history and be aware of it. But I hate the term 'the good old days'. They were often only good for a certain group of people such as white, straight males. I am very worried about our institutions now. I couldn't believe Trump would be elected the first time and am now shocked to find people willing to vote for a convicted felon. I'm concerned about our future.
My friends who wallow in nostalgia are the ones I find least capable of critical thinking. And the ones who are deeply nostalgic seem to embrace a utopia that was never real. It exists in their memory but when quizzed, those memories fall apart. When I ask for examples of how things were better, (Jane, you are right on) the old white guys are just spewing out the list of mom, apple pie and chevrolet themes. When I ask them how other people (women, LBGT, people not white) would answer that question they get a little more thoughtful, but not by much.
The Democratic Party began its demise when capitalist party elites railroaded democratic socialist Henry Wallace from FDR’s VP slot in ‘44, in lieu of Truman, who brought us national security state hell after he became President. The final nail in the coffin was the takeover of the party by Clinton, Gore, Fromm, and the rest of the DLC neoliberal corporatists in the early 90s.
Chris Hedges’ book ‘The Death of the Liberal Class’ documented the failure of liberal institutions to respond to the neoliberal economic onslaught, and also the rise of Christian nationalism. Written in 2010, it predicted the GOP extremist takeover of state legislatures, the courts, and segments of academia.
We’re in a bad place. The corporate coup is complete. Until a majority of Americans realize voting alone won’t save us now, we’ll continue to circle the drain.
At the age of 27 I already fall prey to too much nostalgia. I remember watching debates in '08 as a 7th grade kid. I remember the feeling of optimism that first Obama campaign imparted and the feeling of pride in our nation's solidarity in democracy watching Senator McCain graciously cede the race to our first black president—something of note back then. I remember President Bush at noon during the peaceable transfer of power, and the smile, genuine as a painted portrait on his genial face. These are good ol' days for me. They are real.
There have been efforts from both parties to constrain that image to its sepia-toned filter of nostalgia. I think of Sanders' snub in 2016 and wince at the language in this 2025 project. I bemoan the left's abandon of populism and the right's reversal from democratic ideals.
I long for the time when John McCain and Barrack Obama shared a stage smiling. While the rougher edges of my polished memory may prove that they were figureheads of larger, covert interests, those figureheads at least still claimed that while they disagreed on policy, they believed in the same America.
I agree with the other comments so far and I'd like to add a tangent regarding the metaphor of being a child with a teddy bear.
From my pov more adults should have one and hug it regularly, not necessarily a stuffed toy but a soft object such as a pillow. It's one of the most overlooked ways of regulating ourselves and grounding us in our bodies. We know this inherently as kids but then we 'grow up' and decide that its childish.
Frankly, if more adults had the habits of hugging pillows, we, as a society, would be much better of.
I can't add much that the previous comments didn't already cover. I too felt a sinking despair when SCOTUS handed the election to Bush over Gore, and was certain that a deep injustice had been committed. Oh, if I'd only known, right? On another note, more pleasant, I had a Snoopy doll too, John, and I loved him very much and I knitted him a little green scarf. Also, I do hug pillows routinely. I hope there are enough of us who don't want to go back to the "good old days," which were not good for very many people, and that enough of us get out and vote.
Insightful as always. Nostalgia is truly very dangerous. In my lifetime, I have constantly received pushback when I talk about extending the democratic ideals of our country. I believe that is the direction we need to go, and it involves institutions and individuals. However, as you briefly mentioned, many of our institutions are anti-democratic.
The book Tyranny of the Minority did a great job explaining some of the countermajoritarian institutions in the US and solutions implemented by other countries. My thoughts on the book are here if anyone is interested - https://bathruminations.substack.com/p/tyranny-of-the-minority?r=jxqbu
At the age of 83, I hate nostalgia. I think it good that we understand history and be aware of it. But I hate the term 'the good old days'. They were often only good for a certain group of people such as white, straight males. I am very worried about our institutions now. I couldn't believe Trump would be elected the first time and am now shocked to find people willing to vote for a convicted felon. I'm concerned about our future.
My friends who wallow in nostalgia are the ones I find least capable of critical thinking. And the ones who are deeply nostalgic seem to embrace a utopia that was never real. It exists in their memory but when quizzed, those memories fall apart. When I ask for examples of how things were better, (Jane, you are right on) the old white guys are just spewing out the list of mom, apple pie and chevrolet themes. When I ask them how other people (women, LBGT, people not white) would answer that question they get a little more thoughtful, but not by much.
The Democratic Party began its demise when capitalist party elites railroaded democratic socialist Henry Wallace from FDR’s VP slot in ‘44, in lieu of Truman, who brought us national security state hell after he became President. The final nail in the coffin was the takeover of the party by Clinton, Gore, Fromm, and the rest of the DLC neoliberal corporatists in the early 90s.
Chris Hedges’ book ‘The Death of the Liberal Class’ documented the failure of liberal institutions to respond to the neoliberal economic onslaught, and also the rise of Christian nationalism. Written in 2010, it predicted the GOP extremist takeover of state legislatures, the courts, and segments of academia.
We’re in a bad place. The corporate coup is complete. Until a majority of Americans realize voting alone won’t save us now, we’ll continue to circle the drain.
At the age of 27 I already fall prey to too much nostalgia. I remember watching debates in '08 as a 7th grade kid. I remember the feeling of optimism that first Obama campaign imparted and the feeling of pride in our nation's solidarity in democracy watching Senator McCain graciously cede the race to our first black president—something of note back then. I remember President Bush at noon during the peaceable transfer of power, and the smile, genuine as a painted portrait on his genial face. These are good ol' days for me. They are real.
There have been efforts from both parties to constrain that image to its sepia-toned filter of nostalgia. I think of Sanders' snub in 2016 and wince at the language in this 2025 project. I bemoan the left's abandon of populism and the right's reversal from democratic ideals.
I long for the time when John McCain and Barrack Obama shared a stage smiling. While the rougher edges of my polished memory may prove that they were figureheads of larger, covert interests, those figureheads at least still claimed that while they disagreed on policy, they believed in the same America.
I agree with the other comments so far and I'd like to add a tangent regarding the metaphor of being a child with a teddy bear.
From my pov more adults should have one and hug it regularly, not necessarily a stuffed toy but a soft object such as a pillow. It's one of the most overlooked ways of regulating ourselves and grounding us in our bodies. We know this inherently as kids but then we 'grow up' and decide that its childish.
Frankly, if more adults had the habits of hugging pillows, we, as a society, would be much better of.
I can't add much that the previous comments didn't already cover. I too felt a sinking despair when SCOTUS handed the election to Bush over Gore, and was certain that a deep injustice had been committed. Oh, if I'd only known, right? On another note, more pleasant, I had a Snoopy doll too, John, and I loved him very much and I knitted him a little green scarf. Also, I do hug pillows routinely. I hope there are enough of us who don't want to go back to the "good old days," which were not good for very many people, and that enough of us get out and vote.
Insightful as always. Nostalgia is truly very dangerous. In my lifetime, I have constantly received pushback when I talk about extending the democratic ideals of our country. I believe that is the direction we need to go, and it involves institutions and individuals. However, as you briefly mentioned, many of our institutions are anti-democratic.
The book Tyranny of the Minority did a great job explaining some of the countermajoritarian institutions in the US and solutions implemented by other countries. My thoughts on the book are here if anyone is interested - https://bathruminations.substack.com/p/tyranny-of-the-minority?r=jxqbu
It can’t happen here by Sinclair Lewis is a novel for our times.