I feel fortunate to have happened upon a wonderful Hallmark Channel movie called "Though None Go With Me." The story provided a beautiful viewing of a small town in the early 1950's. Having never experienced that decade myself surely makes me lament that I missed a very precious time in our history. My mother has so often commented on how she misses the way society was during the era of the 1950's. After viewing this movie, I was saddened to discover how incredibly accurate her musings really were.
As I watched the characters in this movie interact, it was obvious that there was an inherent innocence that defined this era. I also couldn't help but notice that people during this time were remarkably polite and civil to each other. There were definitely high standards that people invariably inspired to maintain. It's as though there were rarely any nebulous areas of decorum, ethics or courtesy. Things seemed to be defined more rigidly in terms of either black or white. There was no room for a rampant liberal mindset that would breed a lack of common sense, good judgment, respect and scruples.
It is extremely disheartening to realize just how profoundly we have devolved as a society in the span of the past five decades. This movie surely moved me through its bittersweet tale of love and loss. But what really struck me was the startling contrast of today's society to that of the 1950's era. In light of America's current unrest and inner turmoil, surely we ache for a period like the 1950's more than ever. And the real shame I believe is knowing that we will most likely never, ever be able to recapture that idyllic innocence again.