Things Are Not What They Used To Be

Things Are Not What They Used To Be

By Joe Renna

If I hear one more person say "things are not what they used to be" my head will explode. Nothing is like it used to be. Everything changes. The world changes. And so should we. There will be elements of life and community that will go through negative changes. And it's a shame that we may never get them back. These nuances of years gone by are being missed. Rightfully so, we should remember them. Nurture them and try to preserve them against the winds of change.

You see, the battle is against nature. Peterstown isn't physically big enough to house the second generation it produced. Each generation also became more economically empowered than the last. Socially and culturally we become more assimilated. Technology made our world the size of a bocce ball, and opportunities exist that our parents only dreamed of or hoped that we would have. The irony is that our parents worked hard to make these changes.

Some changes are terrible and happen by no fault of our own. When complaints are leveled against Peterstown they echo the complaints heard across the country. Crime, drugs, economics, race relations and of course, "these kids now-a-days." The funny thing is that the complaints are no different than those of the previous generation. Think real hard. We used to be "the kids now-a-days". You see, the problems are the same but they are relevant to a different time.

I remember only a few decades ago having never to lock the door to the house. Today we lock our doors, and put clubs on our cars. So it's true some things are not as nice as they used to be, but the positive changes overwhelmingly make up for a few short falls.

How many of our parents and grandparents had the opportunity to go to college? How many had the opportunity to own their own home? How many could pursue a career of their choice or travel? We have all these choices and our children will have even more opportunity than us. We can harken back to the years gone and lament the ways things were, or we could embrace the values that our forefathers had the wisdom to bestow on us. Yes, recognize the changes that have happened and are happening but change with them. We have the power to make the world better for the next generation. Like our parents we must work hard to do so. And I don't mean just working hard at your job. I also mean working hard at parenting, at relationships, at community service and reaching out and helping your neighbor in the next apartment or in the next state.

Not for Nothing But...
Just because you got your license before the new stop signs went up,
doesn't mean you can ignore them.