I always enjoy Victor Davis Hanson, but never more so than when he’s comparing America’s present to its past:
"Our 1972 Olds 98 (my dad bought it used) in terms of reliability, comfort, ease of driving, and safety was a relic, a deathtrap, a clunker compared to a 2007 Honda Accord or Toyota Camry. None of these considerations appear in statistics about income, unemployment, purchasing power, etc. After all, how do you measure the value of a lap-top with wifi, or the notion that you can sit at Starbucks and have a 10-million volume library at your fingertips? What does one pay for that privilege?"
He mentions a 1930s family with its wood-burning stove and prize-possession radio. Reminded me of my Mississippi grandmother, who still had both in the mid-1950s. I wonder, though, whether Americans today don’t just take their affluence for granted and get upset when they can’t afford more? Making the entitlement "promises" of a Barry or Hilarity attractive.
THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER 
There is one consideration for a likely minded pessimist: our affluence is so fragile that people with the wood-burning stove may be better off yet – in the long run.
Oh well.
There is one consideration for a likely minded pessimist: our affluence is so fragile that people with the wood-burning stove may be better off yet – in the long run.
Oh well.
I hope not, but I see your point. Although I think most of the apocalypse scenarios are bosh. They still make Franklin stove wood burners. I guess you could cook on one if you had to.
I hope not, but I see your point. Although I think most of the apocalypse scenarios are bosh. They still make Franklin stove wood burners. I guess you could cook on one if you had to.