Another mediocre thing about the 1940s was the very existence of the House Committee of UnAmerican Activities. Although its function was to investigate alleged anti-American (pro-Communist) activities of U.S. citizens, it was ironically and arguably the most unAmerican government agency until the Reagan-appointed Rehnquist Court came along.
The 1950s: During the '50s, or another nearby decade, for a practical joke a journalist made up an organization called SINA, or the Society Against Indecency in Naked Animals. People in this fictitious organization advocated putting clothing on all animals, in the name of decency. Although this so-called organization was meant solely as a joke, many religious zealots and other assorted bozos took up this cause as their very own. They took the quest to clothe all animals very seriously.
Perhaps an even worse thing about the '50s was the presence of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Senator McCarthy was undoubtably a mediocre politician, who very likely would have faded into well-deserved obscurity if he had not taken full advantage of the Red Scare; and in the process ruined the lives of hundreds of people by arbitrarily accusing them of being Communists or Communist-sympathizers.
Other examples of mediocrity from the '50s include such things as hula hoops, and those stupid beanies with propellors, which certain young people supposedly once wore. The fifties were also the source of many of the situation-comedies which helped give rise to the myth of 'ideal family values', which unfortunately exists to this day. "Father Knows Best" had a cast which may have seemed happy and well-adjusted, but in real-life the father (Robert Young) was a suicidal alcoholic, and several children on the show became abusers of drugs and/or alcohol. Likewise, on the show "Ozzy and Harriet", the family acted one way in front of the camera (happy and seemingly well-adjusted), while the Nelsons were evidently a classic dysfunctional family in real-life. (to be cont'd)
[Originally published in Eastern Connecticut State University's Campus Lantern student newspaper and part of my unpublished manuscript "In Mediocrity We Trust... In Debt We Die" And Other Essays.]
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