This Week's Story
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Presidents, Americans, novelties, inventions, and danger produced the U.S. 1980's.
This Week’s Story relives American history and the Bible through brief inspiring stories presented on mp3 audio recordings and text for reading.
His smile lighted our world, as days came with fun and risk!
part three
The curtains in the 1980’s opened a new era. President Jimmy Carter, a man of principle, finished his term January 20, 1981. Then came President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989. Who could be more charming and a reminder of the days when people could work together and enjoy each other? George H. W. Bush began his term on January 20, 1989. Sharp tongues unleashed, but Bush managed to keep a civil tongue. Reagan had marked the decade.
Quotes from Reagan were memorable, and sometimes ignited debate. Some examples were:
“The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”
“Government’s first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives.”
“The future doesn’t belong to the faint-hearted; it belongs to the brave.”
His key themes were work hard toward goals, find joy, and have faith. He believed in limited government, free markets, and the dangers of excessive government.
There were national and global issues such as: tax reform, certainly the Cold War, the Iran-Contra debates, and the hopeful summits between President Reagan and the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Kids were in a culture were now many look back and say, “I rode my bike wherever.” “I had few books, toys, and game, but they were awesome.”
The culture did not live in a cloud of fear or an alert sense of living safely. Hitching a ride was O.K. Now it is usually unthinkable to get into a stranger’s car simply by walking along a road and sticking out your thumb and indicating you want a free ride.
Smoking was generally part of acceptable daily life. No warnings and an absence of No Smoking signs. No awareness of the harmfulness of secondary smoke for babies, children, people with allergies, anyone.
Entertainment was a wonderland of new possibilities in the 1980’s. Saturday mornings were cartoon marathons and of course sugary cereals for breakfasts. There were spell-binding blockbuster movies. The Walkman with foam-covered ear phones absorbed hours for many ages. What kid or adult did not become challenged with a Rubiq’s cube? It was the ultimate popular contest! The Boom Box rocked urban ghettos with its radio, cassette deck, loud speaker, and raucous hip-hop or rock music. It was portable, powered by battery or AC power.
There were novelties like a sticky octopus from a gumball machine. It could be thrown against a wall. Then it would crawl downwards.
Clothing was no exception. There were jell shoes, leg warmers, and eye-popping neon clothes.
Music videos were epidemic! Michael Jackson mesmerized viewers with his moonwalk. What a backward glide! The radio was essential,l especially a Sony Walkman. It was portable, audio, private, became a CD, MiniDisc, and a digital flash memory player.
Yet to come was a cataclysm of changes—pleasant and threatening. Awareness of God was needed in evaluating changes and their influence.
Our team today is Todd Warren, Gwen Crawford, Carlos Gamez, and Barbara Steiner.
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