I Long for the Yesteryears I Never Experienced

I'm watching the Andy Griffith show.  I'm also halfway through a bottle of wine.  I don't know if they are related.  Anyway, as I watch this show, I think how ridiculously wholesome it is.  Was life in the 50's really this innocent, or was it exacerbated through the TV world?  It's like today's TV programming, but paradoxically it's completely the opposite.

"Too much wine, tipsy Miss Alyson?" you might be wondering.  No, please allow me to explain.

We exploit common behaviors on TV, but these behaviors might not be a genuine reflection of our culture.  I recall traveling in Up With People back in 1998 and in staying with some host families in Sweden, they asked me about the authenticity of The Jerry Springer Show. 

"Is everyone in America like this?" I was asked.

"No," I'd reply with my head hanging low.  What miserable ambassadors these people were to my culture.

Sadly, there is some truth to the people on The Jerry Springer Show, and to anyone, really, on reality TV.  There are a lot of white-trash, smack-talking, uneducated, low moral people in our country.  Sadly, still, people want to emulate them.  Why? Because their behavior is rewarded.  I suppose I could act like a smart-ass, over-sexed, ignorant catty bitch and make lots of money by acquiring my own TV show, but is this the type of character for which I want to be known?  NO!  I want people to reflect on my time on this earth and think back on me as a respectful, kind, thoughtful, giving, loving and intelligent individual.  Making a quick buck by selling oneself out is no different than prostitution in my book.

Back to Andy Griffith.  Were the people of his era genuinely that wholesome, or was it an exaggeration of the way most people were known to be?  I was born in 1979, and I feel the generations in which I've lived have been one debacle after the other.  I wish I were a wife of the 1950's.  I could be a stay-at-home wife, cooking, cleaning, knitting, sewing, gardening, reading, walking the dog and feeding the wood stove.  I'd have a warm meal and a cold drink ready for Matt when he got home from a hard day's work.  I would volunteer at the library or at church, I'd have shallow friendships at the salon, and see my family and girlfriends as often as I like.  But I live in 2013.  An undefined, rat-raced era filled with people dizzy by overstimulating media and the insatiable urge to have their every immediate desire fulfilled.

Furthermore, if people really do emulate those on TV, if trashy reality TV shows were banned and replaced with wholesome characters with good morals, would the face of our society change?  Media is very influential, and TV plays a major role in this.  This is why I blame Mary Tyler Moore for destroying the housewifely lifestyle that I should be living.  More on that later.

It's time to pour another glass of wine.  I'd love to know your thoughts.