Once Upon a Time

A thought that keeps lingering in my mind lately is Childhood.

We are always missing the past. Regardless of how old we are, we always say that past times were better, and we long to relive them.

When we -my generation- were young, our parents used to talk about the past; their past and how everything was different. For example, they were not as spoiled as we are. Kids were more responsible and independent on themselves, kids used to listen to their parents, kids used to walk to school, kids used to study alone, kids used to help around house chores, kids never complained about not liking what was for lunch, kids used to take care of other smaller kids. They did not necessarily have televisions, but they mostly listened to radios. They had better movies, especially if we compare them to the poor quality of most movies nowadays. Singers were more respectful, songs were better. Famous people who rose to fame -regardless of in what field- actually deserved it such as Gamal Abdel Nasser, Umm Kulthum, Ibrahim Nasrallah and many more. People were more friendly, neighbors knew and exchanged visits with each other, streets were cleaner, the economy was richer, and they did not have to worry about the ozone layer!

Now that we, yesterday’s kids, are gorwn ups, we are starting to realize that the past is better than the present and probably also the future. We constantly complain about how kids have no manners, kids have to have nannies and private teachers, kids disrespect their parents, kids always prefer to eat out, kids (Who are not even teenagers yet) dress inappropriately, kids who are barely 10 get their own mobile phone and iPod and Wii, kids stay out late. We do have new and improved technologies; we have better televisions (Plasma, LCD, and soon televisions will go All-Digital), we have online international radios, we have better cars, we always have a wider variety of basically everything. Yet we have bad movies, terrible singers, and meaningless songs. If you ask a kid about something that has to do with history or geography, he/she will go blank. However, ask him/her about Nancy Ajram, Tamer Husni, or Ruby and you will find your answer. Not to mention the failing economies, the deteriorating environment, and the rising rudenss of people as no one can stand another today. I honestly cannot tell you how many e-mails I have received so far about childhood memories and all the lovely cartoons we used to watch, the candies we used to consume (Chocolate bars, bags of chips, ice cream brands or lack thereof), and the toys and games we used to play with.

I wonder what kids of today will think of tomorrow. Are we really going from bad to worse, or is it just that it is in a human being’s nature to feel nostalgic about what used to be?