April 17, 2026
I went to a friend’s funeral not long ago, where they placed his favorite red hat in the casket alongside his body for viewing. The imprint on the hat read, ”I want back the America I grew up in.“ I thought that was really cool as I nodded my head in agreement. The imprint phrase made such an impression on me that it caused me to think a lot about and now write about John’s wish.
Being about the same age as John, I too miss my childhood growing up years in the great American 1950s and 60s. I’m sure we all loved the best of times back then, especially the childhood ones. But then, perhaps we should be careful what we wish for. Nostalgia is very selective. It seems that, for some reason and in many ways, nostalgia chooses to remember the best of times and weed out the rest. So, what was it really like? I thought I’d take a stroll with you down memory lane and try to recapture the memories to see if they all add up to wanting the old America back again.
Let’s start with the 1950s. The “Leave it to Beaver” generation. There were many, actually more than ever, middle-class families enjoying home ownership, a family car, two kids, and a dog. We, kids, had plenty of fun playing outside all day from morning til dark. Hopscotch, bike riding, baseball. In my neighborhood, we didn’t really have organized teams and pristine manicured fields like my grandkids do today. So, a couple of us boys dragged our Dads’ ratty old lawnmowers down to the overgrown field that nobody even knew who actually owned to ask permission. We just went ahead and cut down the weeds to make our own baseball field. I doubt the kids today would want to recapture that type of nostalgia, though. That was a lot of hard work. Yeah, not everyone had a cool backpack to carry their two bats, high-end baseball shoes, and gloves. In fact, no one had any of that! But we shared what we had, and the reward was a ton of fun ball games that sometimes the whole neighborhood played in. Boys, girls, and even sometimes, my Dad too!
There were jobs galore for our Dads. They earned enough that our Mothers could stay at home, even if some of the Moms didn’t always want to. But for the most part, I think they did. After all, who else would bake the apple pie? We weren’t rich by any stretch of the imagination, but we had enough to make ends meet. There was a sense of moderate prosperity and lots of happy, good-time nostalgia for us to look back upon.
But sometimes there was a price to pay. Some of the jobs were dangerous. Some men literally died for their jobs, working in the steel mills and coal mines. Many of the neighboring residents, women and children, were also affected. Both of my grandfathers died in their mid 40s, before I was even born, due to coal mining incidents. One from a rock fall that crushed his skull, and the other’s heart just suddenly stopped one day due to coal dust-induced black lung disease. And I remember the steel mills where some of my relatives worked and lived nearby their whole lives. I remember visiting them and seeing the red ash and dust covering their homes and cars, and surely their lungs as well. The sky at night always had a red glow to it from the fire blast furnaces in the mills and the smoky haze pollution that filled the air. Not to mention who knows what was being discharged into the rivers.
Today, we have those who want to roll back the environmental regulations in an effort to return to powerful corporate profits and structure. They say we need to get back to the good old American coal mining and steel mill manufacturing days that once made America great. The environment can wait for the next generation, right? Especially if rolling back the regulations will get us back to the greatness that we seek, and reclaim the 1950s and 60s prosperity that we all enjoyed.
Reminiscing about the 60s is great fun, too. Along came rock and roll, free love, drugs, war, and calls for peace amid revolution. I have to admit that the Woodstock years sure had some fun stuff going on! Except for the war part, where more than 58,000 Americans died due to political mismanagement and incompetence. This also resulted in the massive anti-war protests and the shameful bashing of the valiant warriors. Personally, I would prefer skipping that part of my growing up.
But now we have a brand-new war led by a whole new group of the same sort of political incompetents… That is, most of the political leaders never carried a gun or even served at all, and have decided that we now need an automated draft! You know, just in case they miscalculate the war again, like back then, and need more bodies. Remember the draft and the huge Vietnam War protests on the college campuses and in the streets? Not to be outdone, we can now claim some comparable-sized protests today with the nationwide “No Kings” demonstrations. Are you starting to see a pattern here? Maybe we are already going back and reliving the great America we grew up in!
Probably one of the most horrific parts of our growing-up years was all of the political assassinations. I remember being sent home from school early the day our president was shot. The teachers were crying. Obviously, that is a part of growing up in America that nobody wants to go back to. But here we are again, with multiple assassination attempts or threats on our current President and other political figures.
The drug culture was groovy, baby. Until the untimely shocking deaths of some of the most famous and popular musicians. I’m thinking about Joplin, Hendrix, and Morrison, to name a few. I hope we never go back to those massive drug culture years for nostalgia’s sake. That wasn’t great then, and never will be!
The space race was cool, though. We watched the first American astronaut in space, which was eventually followed by the first moon landing. A giant leap of pride in our nation’s accomplishment of winning the Soviet space race. A coming together of sorts. You know, the cowboys, the rebels, the hippies, and the yanks. That truly was great! And, I can honestly say that last week’s manned voyage around the moon was awesome and recaptured that pride. At least momentarily, it felt like our country, and maybe even the world, came together. I loved going back to that feeling. Déjà vu!
And now a whole new space race is happening. This time with China. Both countries want to be the first back to the moon again so that one or the other can claim rightful ownership and control of the “hot” spot. The small south pole area that receives the most sunlight. Potentially allowing for human habitation. Unfortunately, it’s not that hard for a cynical mind to imagine that someday there could be a war to take control of that portion of lunar land! Especially if a newly discovered valuable resource can be drilled or mined for. Drill baby drill! But, hopefully, it will just be another “cold” war. Remember the Cold War?
I remember having air raid drills in school during the Cold War. Now there’s a blast from the past while we were growing up in America! In grade school, we were marched out of the classrooms and were lined up in the hallways. We were instructed to sit down on the floor and cover our heads with our hands in silence, in case a soviet atomic bomb was dropped on us! I do miss those good old days. And similar to back then, at least the kids today will have the shooter lock-down drills to remember. So sad, then and now!
And who can forget the civil rights marches and violent riots that resulted from those who dared to form an anti-racism agenda. We watched on TV as the police tried to restore order by beating and arresting the protesters. The protesters called out for justice against “police brutality”, and they called the officers “Pigs.” Today, we call them “ICE.” Racism appears to be back with a vengeance, stronger than ever. Just like when we were growing up.
It is tempting to want to go back and relive nostalgia. But in reality, it’s an enticing trap. Do we really want the “great” America that we grew up in, back in the day? The nostalgia is luring. The parallels of then and now are uncanny. And here we are… Welcome back to the past that we grew up in!
If the greatness of America can be found again, it will not come from looking back. It will not come from old men who believe that their youth was greater back then, and America was greater back then. Nothing can be gained from taking two steps back and one step forward. There is a saying that is worth reflecting on: “You can never go home again.”
The future greatness of America will come from a brilliant, insightful mind whose leadership looks to the future. Perhaps she hasn’t even been born yet. But if not, I am optimistic that she will be born in my children’s or grandchildren’s lifetime, who by then will be reminiscing about their own great nostalgia!
RIP John
Robert Kuhn 