Free Example of America in the 1950s Essay

Introduction

People are very much engaged in different activities. It is really hard to understand the exact thing that is happening in this part of the world. Everyone is quite busy doing something; you wonder if it is all about to outsmart the other person, and if so why? It appears like the second world had stolen much from the people; it is only a couple of years since the Nagasaki atomic bomb brought sanity to the world but everything has already changed over here in the United States. My diseased father would have no place in this society, it would really be hard for him to cope with the socio-cultural changes, not to mention the economic and political strides that the nation has seen in the few years since he departed. What would amaze him most is the development in technology; this has gone further than what anyone on the battle line in the WWI would have ever expected. Life has changed totally and very few Americans are able to remember when the WWII was fought.

Economy

The economy of the United States has gone tremendously after the end of the Second World War. Many had feared that the war would overstretch our economy as it did to European countries. On the contrary, we managed to come out of the war the strongest economy in the world. You look around and all you see are smiles everywhere. Americans have jobs and no one is worried about where their next meal will come from or how they will feed their emaciated sons daughters any more. Statistics today show that, over 60% of the Americans are in the middle class category, (Harold, 53). This is an elucidation of the fact that there are only a few people still struggling to make a living, majority have established their lives and only have to focus on how to main the status in order to keep the wheel rolling forward. This signifies a shift from those days when people like my father who had factory jobs still found it hard to buy a present for their children; all there was to ensure there is something on the table at the end of the day. They were working but the pay itself was so small. The positives trends in the growth of our economy are greatly attributed to the fact that most of the world’s strongest economies before the world wars have been drained by the effects of the wars and today import a lot of goods from our country. This in itself has enhanced creation of so many jobs in our economy, (Jeffrey Hart, 25).

Technology

The power of the atomic bomb is still vivid in the minds of the Americans, the Japanese and of course the whole world. This was just but the beginning of greater innovations to come. The fear for insecurity and the need to maintain the superpower status is sending scientists wild. President Truman had no any other option but to give the go ahead to the testing of the super bomb (hydrogen bomb); what the bomb did to the remote location in the South Pacific is a cause for shiver. The effects of this bomb are devastating and my prayer is simple, let there be no need for it to be called to action (Jeffrey Hart, 71). Military technology is proving to be progressing at a threatening pace; rocket technology has received much support, Sputnik is just about to be launched. It appears as if it is not going to be the only huge development in technology that this year will witness, a satellite is also following soon. It is said that the satellite will be sent to space with a breathing dog; this is enormous.

There is no better way of bragging of our advancement in technology without making any reference to computer technology. Our scientists have just discovered that multiple transistors on a single chip go a long way in improving the size and speed of the computer. In my mind, I envision a time when my sons and daughters will be able to use the sophisticated machines in their own houses and places of work; let alone the stories I hear of them being used by scientists only (Robert Heibroner, 13).

The development in medicine is quite encouraging. Two of my siblings of poliomyelitis at the tender age nine and eleven. I am happy that no American is going to die from that deadly disease that shamelessly crippled former president Roosevelt. Dr. Jonas Salk will forever be remembered by all Americans for his efforts that eventually bore fruits when he came up with the polio vaccine. The vaccine has already proved its effectiveness in prevention the occurrence of poliomyelitis. A society freed from the devastating effects of this killer disease is indeed a happy society that would be envied by our departed fathers (Joshua, 56).

Entertainment and fashion

Things are really changing very fast. You have to be very careful if you do not want to drag behind in fashion and all that is happening around. Television has come up strongly as one way of keeping yourself informed on all that is happening in the country while at the same time being entertained. You only have to take your time and watch the TV after work and you will know who is who in the world of entertainment, where to go for pastime and what to put on. To know where to buy the best Bermuda shirt or peddle pusher, the answer is the TV. Life has indeed changed and it is easier to stay relaxed (Joshua Freeman, 61)