The “mindset” of those I knew in the years of my youth, when there were no computers and smartphones, may be gleaned from conversations we had in those “simpler” days. The moral clarity that prevailed in America before 1960 must be kept in mind to understand that mentality: first duty to God, love of family, of country, freedom, and truth.

These elements of sane and healthy living, drawn from ageless wisdom, formed a worldview that made it possible to know who we were, where we came from, and where we were going. It gave us a “present” that was fruitful and a “future” that promised a life of fulfillment, in spite of the inevitable problems and hangups along the way. Nothing in our environment and experience could feed the notion that such fundamentals of living could in some future be mocked, trashed, or vanish, as in a cataclysmic disaster.

So, what was on our minds in those “pre-digital dark ages”? A hint follows from some topics of conversation I had with a friend who, like me, enjoyed diving deep into any subject.

The range of topics these two Brooklynites discussed at an upscale home in Flatbush was – like the garden they faced from a porch – fairly narrow, but their vertical dimension had no top or bottom. When it rained, an awning was cranked down over the porch and the patter of rain joined the chatter of talk . . .

. . . about rocket scientists paving the way to escape earth’s gravity. Imagine being propelled into the vacuum of space........

© American Thinker