Is Life Better Than the 40’s or 50’s?

Is life better than say the 40’s or 50’s? We warmed by a wood stove whose wood was cut by an ax and crosscut saw. Water was from a bucket in a well. The “outhouse” was the bathroom with the Sears catalog as paper. We went to town in a wagon drawn by horses for basics. We grew our own vegetables, beef, chicken and pork with the associated work. Moma cooked on a kerosene stove. In summer we had an “icebox” filled with a 100 lb block of ice. Lights were kerosene lamps though we called them  “coal-oil” lamps. If we had radio it was battery powered. There was no telephone, running water, or electricity. Communication was by letter. School bus line was 1.6 miles away ( I measured late in life) to a combined 1-2 grade when I started. As far as medical care is concerned-primitive. My mother died of TB at 24 for which there was no cure.  I was 2 and have TB scars and compromised lungs. Toys??? Basically the great outdoors- hunting, fishing, stick horses, cowboys and Indians alone in the woods….

Physically life is easier. But relationships were deeper. Love abounded for me. Little physical improvements meant something. As a little boy I was encouraged to led singing as soon as I was in school. We had Sunday singing, potlucks, and gatherings of relatives. The only processing of food was what we did at home. We were close to nature and the Creator.

Though I have been on the forefront of implementing technology, I think we are on the verges of losing more than we have gained. We are losing our humanity and dependence on the Creator. All technology does is shuffle around the elements God already provided. Yet, we think robots can replace relationships and we can be our own God and create our own morality.

Are things better than in the 40’s and 50’s? Physically, yes. As humans created by God, not so much.