American Families and the Waltons
- Thread starter Myles
- Start date
My father had a strange "Ozzie and Harriet" delusion that, left unsatisfied, eventually cracked him. Idylls exist as idealistic expressions. Expecting people to be perfect even in their imperfections is a recipe for disaster.
Of course, yearning for some former "Golden Age" is a common sentiment, even more so in times of trouble. We should not be surprised to hear that President Bush has stooped to this particular sentimentality.
As a side note, the following comes from Riesebrodt's Pious Passions:
Notes:
Riesebrodt, Martin. Pious Passions: The Emergence of Modern Fundamentalism in the United States and Iran. (1990) Trans. Don Renau. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1993.
Of course, yearning for some former "Golden Age" is a common sentiment, even more so in times of trouble. We should not be surprised to hear that President Bush has stooped to this particular sentimentality.
As a side note, the following comes from Riesebrodt's Pious Passions:
_____________________
Notes:
Riesebrodt, Martin. Pious Passions: The Emergence of Modern Fundamentalism in the United States and Iran. (1990) Trans. Don Renau. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1993.
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Yeah - I strongly disagree with you. The only reason you feel that way is because you weren't brought up in that type of environment and therefore have no idea of the advantages it offers.
Having a large, extended family nearby can and will prove to be a tremendous asset. I only wish I had realized it before I move my kids away from their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
Anyone who cannot see the benefits is either too young (like I was at 25) or too close-minded to pause and think about it. Everyone today talks about "networking" being a powerful tool - and it is. And there's no more stronger and more reliable network than the kind under discussion.
I agree with you. I have a good relationship with my grandchildren.
But I find the Waltons too good to be true. I would hate to associate with such people if they existed.
That sems like an interesting book. I shall try and get a copy
but shouldn't we be more like them? Shouldn't people be too good to be true?
Well, there's nothing to stop you trying
Myles said:
It's dry as hell, and attempts to establish itself as a pioneering work in the study of fundamentalism. As to those arguments, they're fascinating in their own right, but I've had the book for several years and never actually made it all the way through.
I'm obliged to now, because a friend of mine went out and bought a copy on the merit of my insistent use of the phrases "world-flight" and "world-mastery".
In the meantime, it's available via Amazon (naturally), including some inexpensive used copies. There are a few excerpted pages at Amazon, but the University of California Press site directs to a better selection of material via Google Books.
Er ... anyway, I now return this topic to its original discussion.
Pronatalist
Registered Senior Member
I do agree that families should be naturally larger, say like that of the Waltons, and I do think my little nephews benefitted from having their grandpa move in with them, after he had his stroke and needed to move in, to not be alone and have proper "assisted living," as he was mostly confined to a wheelchair after that, and so weak as to often need help to get to the bathroom and get his meals and such.
Can't see where that "puke" factor could come in there. I think I would agree with Bush on that.
Can't see where that "puke" factor could come in there. I think I would agree with Bush on that.
Yes, there are certainly MANY good things that can happen before the older of the group ever reach that point. And even when they do, the large extended family - if they honestly care about each other - will chip in to assist in deal with those problems.
My grandparents and parents are long gone, but my wife's parents, both in their 80s and 90s, get a GREAT deal of assistance from their kids and grandkids that live nearby.
What makes me puke is not the aspect of family life portrayed but the fact that the Waltons are too good to be true. I do not believe there was ever a time when such people existed.
How nice to have a lot of goody-goodies who don't make waves.
Then you would be mistaken.
Perhaps not in your part of the world but it was actually quite common in the U.S. a century ago. Prior to the time transportation was widely available and most families were dependent on farming or a family business for their livelihoods, they had a tendency to be pretty clannish and lived quite close to each other. Three generations living in a single large home was fairly common.
It was the widespread adaptation of the automobile and factory/industrial jobs that changed all that.
I know all that. My point is that they are all so bloody saintly. That' what I meant by too good to be true. Most, if not all societies, were like that before the advent of the car, for obvious reasons.
I don't know about "bloody saintly" but for the most part they all got along quite well - they had too, there was no where else to go. So they adapted to each other's individual differences MUCH, MUCH better than families do today.
And your evidence ?
Yeah, all that wholesome goodness, innocence, kindness, love, compassion, concern, consideration, caring, and other good things would just be too much, huh?
You obviously missed the episodes where grandpa indulged in a bit of child abuse in the barn and Johnboy exposed himself. Then there was the lack of respect for the environment...chopping down every tree on Walton mountain. depriving animals of their habitat and precipitating global warming.