[AGL] 169 million vs 324 million

[eisenstadt0]

we have been discussing these questions in our household

1963 (US population 169 million) vs 2017 (US population 324 million)

all answers to be adjusted in terms of having been young then
and old now - therefore assume you are a 20 year old now.

was there more social freedom then than now? (pre-Civil Rights
then makes nowadays better)* - answer possibly an exception to
the other answers

was there more economic opportunity then than now?

was there more personal freedom then than now, less of the
heavy-handed security state then than now obtains? were
we a less fearful people then than now?

was there more room to roam in (for example, off to California)
in a relatively emptier land then than now? (for example, driving
100 mph on IH 35 at 3 in the morning returning from San Antonio
because no headlights on the road behind your car)

were rent and food cheaper then than now?

conclusion: the 1965 immigration law changed our lives for the worse

*this is a thorny question: are blacks /more /alienated now than then
after 50 years of affirmative action?

according to Robert Putnam in /Bowling Alone/, Putnam a respected
objective researcher, the more "diversity" in the area, the less trust
of others reported, also reported is a vastly diminished number
of informal social organizations of like-minded people. Social glue
dissolving.

hitch-hiking cross country was possible then although requiring
patience. Hitch-hiking is no longer an option, no one stops for
hitch-hikers anymore in the fearful world of contemporary America.
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