The older generation did have the "green thing" back then, but isn't it just a matter of perspective?

NOTE: I will be on vacation until June 12th and while I will have computer access the time will be spent with my wife not on the computer. See you when I return. Peace and grace, Pastor Jim

It is never a good thing to compare one generation to another or one era with another. These were different times that required a different set of guidelines. An example is that growing up in Miami we used electric fans in the windows to create a cool breeze through the room. We didn’t turn on the A/C because for one, we didn’t have A/C and secondly, we couldn’t afford to purchase one. Another example, we didn’t spend our evenings sitting before a TV but playing board games or running outside playing hide-n-seek because for one, we didn’t have a TV and secondly, we couldn’t afford a TV. Another example, Mom hung the wash out on the clothesline (she hung a pretty wash) instead of throwing it into a dryer because for one, we didn’t have a clothes dryer and secondly, we couldn’t afford a clothes dryer. Another example, we didn’t run to the store at the drop of the hat, we planned our weekly trips very carefully because we only had one car and Dad had it at work and we couldn’t afford a second car … different era, different priorities, different view of necessities. So it is a little dangerous to make comparisons on how one generation lived verses the present generation.

But … having said that, when the following arrived in my e-mail box it did cause me to pause and thinking that life in a previous time was harder and far more resourceful simply because it was either the way of life then and/or because we didn’t have the financial resources to live it any other way ... besides, much of what we have today hadn’t been invented yet or was just too expensive. It is simply a matter of perspective … therefore, one generation shouldn’t be too smug about what they did or didn’t do because all we have to do is look around us and discover that those of us who are now a part of the “older generation” who grew up not turning on powerful energy consuming contraptions, hanging out our clothes, walking to the store, climbing stairs, using cloth diapers, playing board games or sitting on the front porch in the evening instead of turning on the TV … are NOT still living that old lifestyle. We are enjoying the modern conveniences, but maybe we should give another look at what the previous generation did do and rediscover some of the more simple ways of living that was a part of their era. It wouldn’t hurt … it is just a matter of perspective …

How Wasteful the Older Generation Was ...
Author unknown
In the line at the store, the young cashier told the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bag because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. The woman apologized to him and explained, “We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.”

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. The former generation did not care enough to save our environment."

But she was right, that generation didn’t have the green thing in its day.
Back then, they returned their milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.

But they didn’t have the green thing back in that customer's day.

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two blocks.

But she was right. They didn’t have the green thing in her day.

Back then, they washed the baby’s diapers because they didn’t have the throwaway kind. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts – wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.

But that old lady was right; they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.

Back then, they had one radio and, later, maybe one TV, in the house – not one in every room. And the TV had a screen the size of a handkerchief, not the size of Montana. In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn’t have electric appliances to do everything for them.

When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, they didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the grass. They used a push mower that ran on human power. They exercised by working, so they didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she’s right; they didn’t have the green thing back then.

They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled their writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But they didn’t have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took a streetcar or bus, and kids rode their bikes or rode the school bus to school instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of outlets to power a dozen appliances. And they didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad that the current generation laments how wasteful the old folks were just because they didn't have the green thing back then?