Have you ever thought about
how funny our human race is?
1.
***
Throughout history, we humans have tended to think that we are
progressing and that our ways are superior to those
of the past, but we also tend to bewail the inferiority of the current
generation of youth.
2.
***
Before no-fault divorce, people seemed less afraid of
getting married. They did it young. They did it often. Why weren’t they worried
about getting stuck? You would think that nowadays, with our easy divorce laws,
society would feel less need of live-in courtship to test potential spousal compatibility.
3.
***
When marriage was a “till death” commitment, most weddings were simpler. Now that they could be said to mean less, they
are often extravaganzas with an average cost of over $20,000. Odd, that.
4.
***
There was a time when children were dressed like
miniature adults. Then the Victorian concept of childhood changed this, and
Victorian children wore children’s clothes. However, we have come full cycle.
Walk into any Baby Gap
and note that babies are now expected to dress like adults, even to the point
of impracticality. What does this say about our society?
5.
***
People in the past probably drank more tea than we do, as
a whole, but out of much smaller vessels.
Perhaps this was because we have modern plumbing and they
didn't.
6.
***
Being tanned was once a sign that one worked manual
labor, and thus to be avoided by everyone aspiring to the middle and upper
classes. In the absence of sunglasses and sunblock, bonnets were a helpful
solution.
Then, when office jobs consumed the nation and only the
leisured could afford to go on vacation and sunbathe, tans were in. Everyone
wanted them.
Health concerns have reversed this. Tanning
solons are now seen as cancer salons. Do people avoid them because they fear
cancer, or because they fear looking like they belong to the ignorant masses
instead of the trim, fit, healthy (and not too tanned) middle and upper classes?
7.
***
We humans construct incomplete mythologies. I realize
that this is an abrupt change of subject, but think about Tolkien’s elves for a
moment. Since their life span is so much slower and longer than ours, what does
that mean for family life? Do elf mothers need to be pregnant with each baby
for years at a time?
Happy Friday!
I especially love the possible connection of tea-drinking with plumbing.
ReplyDeleteAnd as I've read less Tolkien than you - tell me, did he say *anything* about women's matters like pregnancy?
Not that I'm aware of. Perhaps, though, we aren't supposed to think about larger-than-life, mythical beings like elves in the context of pregnancy and other practical subjects.
DeleteI have never thought of that but I would venture to guess that their pregnancy would be longer but then you have to wonder about the Half-Elven who could choose between mortal mankind or immortal elves. If a half-elf women chose mortality would her pregnancy then be the 9 months but if she chose to be immortal would her pregnancy then be longer?
ReplyDeleteHmm, that's a good question, too! Or maybe it's only mortals who have pregnancies (as we understand them) at all.
DeleteWhat a great post!!! I love #1 "Throughout history, we humans have tended to think that we are progressing and that our ways are superior to those of the past, but we also tend to bewail the inferiority of the current generation of youth." That is SOOOOO true!!! And I am guilty of it as well in some ways. Haha!!! I just discovered you via 7QT, and I will definitely be reading more of your stuff!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lea! I'm glad you'll be returning. Yes, it's funny how easy it is to believe contradictory things, even when we shouldn't. ;-)
DeleteI'd like to see construction workers go back to wearing bonnets. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I think our age, probably any age for that matter, suffers from a bad case of chronological snobbery, as Lewis put it.