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The Baby Boomers
From Black And White To Color
Before the 1960's, most people watched television in black and white. Looking back at what
society was like 50 years ago, it seems like people looked at life in terms of black and white also.
Things were either right or they were wrong. There wasn't too much in between. Some of the
things we viewed as wrong were disrespectful children, smoking pot, and sex before marriage.
Some of the things society viewed as right were children not talking back to their parents or
teachers and conservative dress. If you want to look back and see exactly what society viewed as
right versus wrong, just watch some retro television and you'll get the picture.
After WWII a new kind of generation was born in the United States. Because of the after effects
of the War the United States experienced an economical boom, which resulted in high income
jobs, (relevant to the time in history) with unemployment rates being almost non-existent.
Education was also enhanced by the government with universities and colleges prompting people
to get a college degree. Education was cheap, and was readily available. In fact, many took
college courses to open up higher paying job opportunities and because of this lifestyle many
people became financially secure. This financial freedom allowed people have more children
and there was a significant increase in birth rates. People who were born during this period are
called baby boomers and were born between the years of 1946-1964.
To me it seems like things really changed during this generation. Dr Spock came along, and his
book became a child rearing bible for many people. Parents changed their approach to raising
their children. It started to become in vogue for parents to be less authoritarian and more liberal
in terms of discipline. The result; the baby boomers themselves took this to an extreme when
they began to have children of their own. They took this more liberal mentality and kicked it up a
huge notch.