Good old days weren’t always
Nostalgia is fun, isn’t it? Looking back at the golden years gone by, when everything was rosy, life was good and things were rosy. Things just aren’t what they used to be, are they? Kids are just not like we were; people are just so entitled, and nobody wants to work for anything. Life was better then, not like now with the world being such a horrible place!
We grew up hearing how good things used to be. That there were jobs to be had for the asking, that our education was the door to a comfortable life. I remember that in high school during the 1980s, we heard that if we studied hard and did well, we would be able to find good jobs that would take care of us for life.
It wasn’t that simple. Even then, that world was collapsing. More people were educated than before, there was increasing competition for jobs, and automation was making inroads into jobs. The manufacturing economy in the Caribbean was failing, faced with the rising output of the Far East (Singapore and Korea were ramping up, causing prices to fall elsewhere). Agriculture was declining, as sugar was more cheaply produced from beets than cane; the decline of the British Empire meant more uncertainty in markets, and technological advances were more rapid than in the previous generation.
There were opportunities, I won’t deny that, but there were also the networks to be navigated, the unwritten rules that were impossible to know and then there were “dues” to be paid.For the people in power — the ones who had jobs, who were already in employment, who could help — life was seemingly easier. How many times did we hear, “you can’t get a job without experience”? How many times were doors slammed in our faces because we weren’t what was wanted; we were women or the wrong colour, or not properly connected...
One of the things that I have learnt as I got older is that the good old days were not as golden as they’re often described. The same people who talked about lifetime secure employment also told about the humiliation they encountered in job hunting— especially for women. They talked of harsh bosses, difficult situations, low pay... all the issues that we deal with now. But they also talk about workplaces that were dangerous by 21st century standards, and conditions that are presently unacceptable.
While we’re wallowing in our nostalgia, we who are now in power often like to slam doors shut. We look at the incoming groups and try to find ways to exclude them. We’re not terrible people, we just want the best... and it’s younger versions of ourselves, but not too much younger because we remember what it was like to be young, ambitious and hungry and what we thought of the “old people” who just refused to retire and leave!
Even with the complaints that exist now, these will be the “good old days” for many people. Another generation will look back at us and think, “oh, they had it so easy!” They will also say of their children that they are spoiled, entitled and that their future is doomed. But like those before us, we have an obligation to make things better for the next generation, and to encourage them to continue to grow.
We grew up hearing how good things used to be. That there were jobs to be had for the asking, that our education was the door to a comfortable life. I remember that in high school during the 1980s, we heard that if we studied hard and did well, we would be able to find good jobs that would take care of us for life.
It wasn’t that simple. Even then, that world was collapsing. More people were educated than before, there was increasing competition for jobs, and automation was making inroads into jobs. The manufacturing economy in the Caribbean was failing, faced with the rising output of the Far East (Singapore and Korea were ramping up, causing prices to fall elsewhere). Agriculture was declining, as sugar was more cheaply produced from beets than cane; the decline of the British Empire meant more uncertainty in markets, and technological advances were more rapid than in the previous generation.
There were opportunities, I won’t deny that, but there were also the networks to be navigated, the unwritten rules that were impossible to know and then there were “dues” to be paid.For the people in power — the ones who had jobs, who were already in employment, who could help — life was seemingly easier. How many times did we hear, “you can’t get a job without experience”? How many times were doors slammed in our faces because we weren’t what was wanted; we were women or the wrong colour, or not properly connected...
One of the things that I have learnt as I got older is that the good old days were not as golden as they’re often described. The same people who talked about lifetime secure employment also told about the humiliation they encountered in job hunting— especially for women. They talked of harsh bosses, difficult situations, low pay... all the issues that we deal with now. But they also talk about workplaces that were dangerous by 21st century standards, and conditions that are presently unacceptable.
While we’re wallowing in our nostalgia, we who are now in power often like to slam doors shut. We look at the incoming groups and try to find ways to exclude them. We’re not terrible people, we just want the best... and it’s younger versions of ourselves, but not too much younger because we remember what it was like to be young, ambitious and hungry and what we thought of the “old people” who just refused to retire and leave!
Even with the complaints that exist now, these will be the “good old days” for many people. Another generation will look back at us and think, “oh, they had it so easy!” They will also say of their children that they are spoiled, entitled and that their future is doomed. But like those before us, we have an obligation to make things better for the next generation, and to encourage them to continue to grow.
Comments
Post a Comment