[jambutty]

I never said that at one time everything was perfect Gayle, what I was trying to point out, rather badly now that I come to think of it, is that in many aspects today’s society is worse than it used to be. We’ve turned into a me, me, me, me, me society. It has to be said that it is also better in some ways but that is more in material things than attitudes.

We used to have hospitals with real nurses and plenty of them who considered nursing as a vocation as well as just a job to earn money. To be fair many nurses are highly dedicated to their vocation today but many are not. We used to have an education system, although not perfect, was good enough to produce scientists, inventors, technicians, engineers etc in abundance. We used to have trade apprentices where school leavers could learn a trade. We used to have more than adequate public transport. We had respect for the older folk even though youngsters have always cheeked them. We used to have governments that listened to the people and were not bogged down with alleged sleeze. Crime is rife and our prisons are full and are no real deterrent. The police on the street are beginning to become a distant memory. Kids could play out with safety although there was the odd case of child abuse.

Er! garinda! I’m sure that you meant to write, “at least the child mortality rate has DECREASED considerably over the last seventy years.” Not increased.

We who talk about the past Gayle have actually lived and experienced the past and as we are still living in the present we are best qualified to make a comparison. We may view the past with rose coloured glasses but surely you cannot deny that there is a lot wrong with today’s society. Which brings me back to my original question. What went wrong?