Justin Yonzon

The Silver Lining Between a Changing Future and Differences of the Past

When contemplating the nature of human life, I believe Jim Carrey put it best: “If you aren't in

the moment, you are either looking forward to uncertainty, or back to pain and regret.” One way

to interpret this quote is to see people as scared of the future and moving forward in addition to

looking back to the past. Thrusting into the future is often accompanied by feelings of

uncertainty. This uncertainty is spawned from the unknown. People can be scared of things that

they do not understand or finding things that are different from them. So, moving forward may

frighten some people. And therefore they want to live in the past as they tend to feel more

comfortable just sticking to what they already know and what they are familiar with. They are

uncomfortable with things and people that are different than what they are already used to.

Which means not only are they scared of moving forward but also scared of anything that is out

of their ordinary, they are scared of differences. But on the other side of the coin, there are other

people in the world who would rather embrace change, celebrate differences, and run straight

towards the future. These other types of people can see new experiences as opportunities to grow

as a person.

But the people of the 1950s were not ones to run towards the future and embrace change.

They were too stuck in the past of their old ways and too scared of what the future may hold.

There were many things Americans were scared of during the 1950s. The end of the second

World War brought fears of Communism and nuclear warfare. America, being a democratic

nation, were scared of the communist government employed by the Soviet Union. More
specifically, America was scared of communism spreading across the globe. The cold war came

about because of these fears. So the United States attempted to stop these fears by holding anti

communist parades. A video clip from “America in the 1950s” state that these parades were “A

united answer to those menacing our country's liberties” These fears came from the threatening

of America’s social norm.

Also during this time segregation between white people and black people was still very

prominent. This is an example of fears of the unknown. An example of people who are scared of

that of which they do not understand completely. They act in such a way because they know no

other way in which to act. Black people have always been treated differently and the 1950s were

no exception. A character, Mr. Lindner, from the play ​A Raisin In the Sun​ states highlights this

fear while trying to convince the Youngers, a black family. not to move into a white

neighborhood. He says “We feel that most of the trouble in this world, when you come right

down to it - most of the trouble exists because people just don’t sit down and talk to each other.

That we don’t try had enough in this world to understand the other fellow’s problem. The other

guy’s point of view” (Hansberry 552). This whole scene is about Mr. Lindner trying to convince

the Youngers not to move to a white neighborhood. He offers them a very large sum of money in

attempt to change their mind. The reason for this is simply because he and the rest of his

community believe that most black people do not deserve to live in their neighborhood because

that is how things have always been. Black and whites have always been separated and Mr.

Lindner would like to keep it that way. Yet what he states during this scene is highly

hypocritical. He does not wish to understand why the Youngers would like to move to a different
neighborhood. In this situation, Mr. Lindner is the person who is not trying hard enough to see

“the other guy’s point of view.”

Another thing America feared in the 1950s was anything that was outside of the cultural

norm. This is apparent throughout the Beat Generation. Howl, a poem written by Allen Ginsberg

refers to Moloch as a symbol for government, war, capitalism, and mainstream culture over all.

Moloch is an inhuman monster that wants to kill the young and stop love. It states “Moloch

whose mind is pure machinery! Moloch whose blood is running money! Moloch whose fingers

are ten armies! Moloch whose breast is a cannibal dynamo! Moloch whose ear is a smoking

tomb!” The poem paints society as an unkindly beast full of people who are all the same. Allen

would later go to trial for an obscenity charge. This shows how the government tried to stop

anything that goes against its normality. The themes of Howl mirror the perspective of young

Holden Caulfield in the book ​A Catcher In the Rye​. Holden believes that almost everyone around

him is phony. Phony meaning insincere and dishonest. He believes everyone is phony, except for

children. Children are pure and totally honest. But as they grow older they become phony. In

essence, as children get older, they are sacrificed to Moloch. They are no longer pure and they

have become part of the machine that is society. Holden is much like Allen Ginsberg. They both

are trying show what they believe to be wrong within the society of their time. Holden’s dream is

to become a catcher in the rye. He sees himself “standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I

have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff” (Salinger 173). He

essentially wants to save kid from growing up to become part of the machine and uniform

society that Allen despises.

 These were some common fears for the people of the 1950s. They were spread in the same

way that fear spread today. Business people, social and mass media as well as the government all

play different roles when creating fears with a society. Realtors create unfair situations for black

home buyers in a society. This was especially noticeable in the practice of blockbusting. In the

article How We Built the Ghettos, Jamelle Bouie states that blockbusters “encouraged blacks to

move into white areas (or created the appearance of transition)” (Bouie 4). This created even

more tension between white and black people. This blockbusting practice was facilitated by both

local and federal government. By allowing this malpractice to happen, bad feelings have been

growing nonstop between the whites and blacks. This is just one example of how the government

affects fear.

Another way that fear is spread is through entertainment and social media with their fear

mongering tactics. Only listening to the media and taking new stories at face value will create

only a surface level understanding of the real story. Often times new reports are blown out of

proportion to make a more interesting story. But when researched more thoroughly, often times,

the original report was merely a fraction of the entire story. Such was the case of a news story

that was reported on American soldier Riggs. He was shot and killed in cold blood upon

returning home from The Gulf War. Giving a greater emphasis on President Bush’s recent crime

bill that wanted to create a land where “‘Our veterans deserve to come home to an America

where it is safe to walk the streets’” (Glassner 1). It was a juicy story that captured the attention

of many viewers. Glassner, the author of The Culture of Fear had this to say about it, “The

murder of Anthony Ruggs seems to have it all. The only problem was, very little of this perfect

crime story was true” (1). It was later found out that Riggs's wife Toni had teamed up with her
brother to murder Riggs and share the insurance benefits. Another instance of faulty information

is the report of rising road rage. Another excerpt from The Culture of Fear recalls how the media

attempted to portray road rage as the leading cause of on road violence. Glassner highlights how

Arnold Nerenberg, an almost faulty authoritative figure, “offers authoritative-sounding sound

bites that support reporters portrayal of highway violence as personal pathology.” Basically

meaning that the pure mindset of road rage is the cause of more violence. But again, upon further

investigation, another large cause of road violence is the illegal ownership of firearms.

Nerenberg fails to mention that by owning more firearms comes a higher chance of them being

used. The takeaway from this instances is that the media and new reports will usually only report

stories that are more interesting than accurate. As well as how the media may publicize an issue

that is not necessarily true or fail to represent the entire situation.

In conclusion, America in the 1950s were scared of many things. Somethings were unique to

just that time period but other were more universal. Some fears that were unique to the 1950s

were the fears of communism and nuclear warfare. But the other fears can still be felt today. Like

the fear of not knowing the actions and intentions of other people. Or being forced into what

society wants you to be. Or the fear of encountering something different that what is normal.

And these fears were perpetuated in ways that is not too dissimilar from it is perpetuated today.

Through the use of the media and news reporters telling everyone what to be on the lookout for

and what should be feared as well as stretching the truth and utilizing confirmation bias and or

bias of omission, fear is created. The creation of fear with the help of the media, news, and the

government is in a self perpetuating loop. By not changing how information is conveyed, more

fear will be created than what is necessary.