1976

Simeon brought up an interesting point last week, the whole idea of us going back in time now and living in 1976 to do a sort of double-Dana thing. Granted, the technological and social gap won't be as enormous as was 1976 compared to 1815, but it'll still be very interesting to see what sort of parallels we can draw between then and now.

I felt that the description given by Dana concerning the 1815 world was very apt--the world was just somehow harder. Same United States, different lifestyle. Nowadays, life for the middle class of America can be considered somewhat cushy, or soft. Oh sure, I like to complain that my life is difficult and stressful, full of college decisions and schoolwork, but there are loads of things I take for granted that simply weren't the case back in 1815 or even 1976. More research is necessary for me to make an accurate description, but transportation, communication, and the attainment of information is just a gazillion times faster and better than ever imagined back in 1976.

This could be a promising idea for the semester project. I don't know. I mean, it actually sounds like a very interesting topic, but I should probably check with Simeon first. Anyway, referencing the idea of a postmodernist fiction, this could potentially be a story based on another story who drew its from that of its ancestors. Doubly confusing and extra postmodern. The largest snag I can think of when it comes to writing about this topic would be the fact that I'd have to center it around a major conflicting social issue as widespread as slavery. Then again, perhaps it doesn't have to be as widespread, just equally significant and intense. I foresee a great deal of research ahead.