I saw something in the news a while back that had me wondering what I would choose. There's been a number of these kinds of studies.
Pew research was asking what time period would people live in if they could choose. I got the following results from the Pew Research Center.
The present has problems too. I know that. But would I like the past better?
I've just been to the dentist who had to work on fixing my broken front tooth. She was very careful to make sure I wasn't in any pain. My brother and I used to call our childhood dentist "the Butcher," because there was always pain going to him.
With so much research having been done since those earlier days, we've got inoculations, cures, and much more understanding than before. I'm glad my children and grandchildren today didn't have to suffer through measles, chicken pox and mumps like I did. Unfortunately, we now have a Secretary of Health and Human Services who doesn't appear to approve of them. Sighhh...
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I don't have photos of me having fun like my brother here. He was always full of curiosity, taking risks and having fun. And yes, he had accidents too. I like to remind him how I had to carry him home on my back when he cut his foot.
But would he want to go back? I don't think so. He likes all that technology can do now too.
But what about you? What would you choose?
If you were to remember the future, it wold be hard to go back to the past although the past was fine when we were living it.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn’t do it again. Live in the present.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't mind living in the years before fat orange got into politics! Kris in Ohio.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who reads a lot of history and has always been somewhat of an optimist, I would chose the present or the future and not the past.
ReplyDeleteThe reason is sort of the same thing. Those wishing for the past often only think of the good things about it and forget about the bad. Likewise, those looking at the present or future, tend to only think of the bad that is present and overlook the good. If I compare the good now and the good back then, I think the present or even the future will outweigh the good of the past.
I would stay in the present where I fit in -Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI'd choose the future. I want to know what is going to happen and what amazing advances will be made in science. Just consider what has been achieved in the last 100 years and then imagine what might develop in the next century.
ReplyDeleteI miss the good music of the past. I don't like the current time, but I wouldn't go back to the past where women had to fight for every right we have now.
ReplyDeleteHard to imagine that before 1967, interracial marriages were not allowed. Give me the present with much hope for the future.
ReplyDeleteI think whenever we talk about the good old days, that vision is always clouded by nostalgia. We miss a fantasy. I am afraid of the future. I hate what is happening right now. I guess I don't have a clue what I would choose.
ReplyDeleteAs miserable and frightening as things are right now, I'll stay in the present. I wouldn't mind going back 20 years or so though.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to get passed the mess we're in right now and back to a country honoring human rights and science. If that's in the future, I wouldn't mind skipping over today.
ReplyDeleteI would choose to stay right in the present where I am. Many worries about the way life is changing, but going back to the past would not bring back "the good old days" which probably were not as good as we remember!
ReplyDeleteI would go back to the Obama presidency, but only if we could change the future and Trump never happened.
ReplyDelete50 years ago I was in my 20's and life was good. Honolulu only had hi-rises in Makiki. The aloha spirit was alive and everywhere, tourists were here but not in droves. Life was slower, less cars, less people, less crime, no homeless. We didn't have cellphones to distract us and keep us over connected. Question is - would I be in my 20's or would I be 73 and living back then? Hmmmm.
ReplyDeleteI think I want to go back, even though I wouldn't have gotten to know you through your blog and I wouldn't be able to get easy answers from Google.
I would not go to any era where women had less power than they do now. Which, um, kind of limits me, eh?
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting question. I just don't know.
ReplyDeleteI would like to move back 30-40 years when I depended on my country to run itself (easy for me to say as a white person) and I was not terrified to go to sleep every night.
ReplyDeleteI would chose the time of my early childhood. Much of the west was undeveloped and it was a pleasant place. Yes, I know there were negatives, but we have negatives now.
ReplyDeleteWOW Kay, this is a very "thought-provoking" post. I too have many happy memories of some of those long-ago days. BUT I think I'm better off here in the present.
ReplyDeleteHonolulu Aunty poses a good question: what age will we be if we go back? I wouldn't want to jump to the future. The past was nice. Prefer any time zone without Trump family or allies. If we smart ones ignore the HHS-RFKJr-CDC stuff, and just go with American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations, our kids will survive. Even my relative who is reluctantly still working at CDC, says to follow AAP. Heck, my grandson will probably get rabies and kennel cough vaccines since his dad is a veterinarian. If healthcare gets too bad, I'll just check into one of his kennel cages. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteAn interesting question, which I can't really answer.
ReplyDeleteI do know that you have to live each day the best way you can.
All the best Jan