Progress?

You and I growing up here in little old NZ. 
Both old enough to remember this land before Televison arrived.
Teenagers hanging out at Milk Bars.The Blacksmith on the main street.
Where there are houses now on the hills of our valley were farm animals.

A murder shocked the whole nation and was headlines.
Now murder is just a regular event.
Our family home was rarely locked.
We knew everyone in our street.
We played on the street as there weren't many cars.
The Television came and everyone started owning cars.
Doors started to be locked and people forgot their neighbourhood and began to feel unsafe.
The rest of the world far away got closer while next door became far away.

Hey Guys it`s great to get u ranting.
I like to write stuff that gets us thinking.
EB

Easy & Peatle ... I literally shed tears when I read your work, and readily identified with the same situation in my corner of the planet.

I grew up in rural Nova Scotia, a small province of Canada with less than a million people. My home town had less than 1,000 people, and no one ever locked the doors to their homes or cars. Neighbors watched out for one another, helped one another without question in times of need, and had an almost communal attitude about their possessions. Personal accomplishment was celebrated, honesty and integrity were the norm, and working hard to be able to stand on ones own feet was viewed with pride and admiration. There was a fist-fight now and then when someones dignity was at stake, but no weapons were ever used ... that wasn't honorable. If one combatant was knocked down, he wasn't kicked or jumped on. That usually settled the matter, and they often made up and became friends. Most of the province was like that.

Then we began telling our children (late-60's) that there were no moral absolutes, and that they weren't unique or special, i.e. just the accidental products of a biological process. We started telling them they were animals, and they started acting like it ... and worse. We traded their entertainments from bicycles, the local swimming hole, reading good books, outdoor sports, art and music, etc. for ultra-violent video games. Now we hear of robberies, murders, gang violence, suicides, etc. on a daily basis in our little province. And most of it is being committed by young adults and teens.

How very, very sad ... a generation or more being raised without hope or identity.

Gidday All
not very nice weather today so thought i would attempt to put music to this poem.
now named `once a year`https://soundcloud.com/rough-as-gut/once-a-year
https://soundcloud.com/rough-as-gut/once-a-year