As the century comes to an end, observers see America's future coming to an end.
The author believes that American families are getting worse off today than they were in the olden days. The problems that she cites from the 1950s that are troublesome are many. For example, Harvard University reports that only four percent of its applicants can write a proper sentence. In addition, police see 16-year-old killers, 12-year-old prostitutes, and gang members at the young age of 11.
The positive trends that the author cites about families in the 1990s is that couples can look forward to spending more than two decades together after the children leave. In addition, families and individuals in contemporary America have more life choices than in the past; that makes it easier for some to consider dangerous or unpopular options.
Summary:
This article, written by Stephanie Coontz, is basically about the American Family. Coontz explains how she believes that life was better in the past than it is today. She believes this because “partly it's because we compare the complex and diverse families of the 1990s with the seemingly more standard-issue ones of the 1950s, a unique decade when every long-term trend of the 20th century was temporarily reversed”.
