1953

In 1953, everything was perfect
The streets were clean
Lawns were mowed
Houses were lined up
In neat little rows
And women wore dresses
And men wore suits
And church was a given
And God was present
And all was well

And nobody was ever murdered
Or raped, or molested
And we didn't call it censorship
We called it decency
And neighbors were neighbors
And ma and pa owned shops
And kids rode bikes
And nothing bad ever happened
Ever, ever, ever

Fun was ballroom dancing
And sock-hopping
And not sex, never sex
We only ever had sex
To get pregnant
And even then
It repulsed us
We enjoyed simpler, more appropriate things

Art was poems about flowers
And the Mona Lisa
And not television
And not movies
And not filthy books
The Bible was art
Neatly mowed lawns were art

We were proud to be Americans
And Christians
And family-oriented
And well-behaved
And rich
And...other things

We didn't feel about things
Our jobs
Our money
Our...views
Our...burdens

Did we trust everyone?
No
Was that smart?
Well...we didn't have terrorism so you tell us

Was there a trade-off for that?
Yes
There are always trade-offs

But we were happy
And we thought we were happy

And if that sounds backwards
Maybe you're just not looking at it
The right way