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I grew up in the San Fernando Valley, just over the hill from Los Angeles, during the Sixties and Seventies. It was a beautiful place to live. Ask anyone who lived there during that time period.
The same can be said for most areas in The Golden State.
Our neighborhoods were clean and orderly. Crime was low, and violent crime was almost unheard of outside the cities.
There were certainly drugs around at the time, and I have noted that much of the evil we see in today’s world was germinating back in those days. We had gangs too, but they were limited to certain areas.
There was a growing degradation that was not recognized, and hence not dealt with effectively. Nevertheless, in comparison to today, California was a paradise.
The reason that California was a paradise in the Sixties and Seventies, was that our parents helped build that paradise. In the Fifties, men and women left cold-climate areas like the East Coast and Midwest (people like my parents) to go West, seeking sunshine, beaches, opportunity, and a healthy place to raise families.
The San Fernando Valley was basically orange groves when my folks moved there. Neighborhoods quickly sprung up, but I still remember our tangelo, lemon, grapefruit, and fig trees, as well as grapes, berries, and the garden my grandfather planted when he came out to visit from Illinois years back.
We played outside–really! With other kids. In the street! We didn’t have our own electronic games. For that, you’d go to the neighborhood pinball parlor.
We knew and regularly visited our neighbors. Neighborhood kids grew up together; neighbors built and maintained friendships with neighbors.
We went to the movies. In the early Seventies, they opened a complex in the neighborhood with six theaters–wow! It seemed I was either always going, or always on the phone listening to the recorded message describing the new movies playing (I’d redial and listen to that message over and over!). We didn’t have to worry about some wacko shooting up the place, or spreading COVID!
We had sports leagues–but back then, we didn’t have fathers and coaches endlessly trying to prep us to be pros. Fun and competition were all we needed.
There were beach trips (of course), swimming in pools (we couldn’t afford a built-in, but we had an awesome above-ground pool (we called them “doughboys”) where we hosted epic water polo matches!, horseback riding, drives in the country, mountain hikes, and more.
Ronald Reagan–California governor!
When I was a kid, I used to spread out the local Sunday papers (at one time, we read up to three!), watch TV, and eat breakfast at the same time! I didn’t pay attention to politics at the time–my interest was the sports page and “Calendar” (entertainment) section of the L.A. Times. But I do remember turning to an article once that for some reason caught my attention. It said that–under Governor Reagan–our state had a SURPLUS of $850 million! (let THAT sink in!)
But leave it to the evil media to somehow turn this into a negative!
Ronald Reagan was a decent human being, and a great governor and president. I loved that guy! Unfortunately, it would be highly unlikely that he could be elected in today’s California.
Why is that?
When I moved back to my parents’ home for a period in the late Eightees, the demographics were already in full change. Unfortunately, though Reagan was a great president overall, he got snookered by the Democrats by allowing an Amnesty for illegals. This article explains what happened:
According to Ronald Reagan himself, as told to his trusted long-time friend and U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese, the biggest mistake of his presidency was signing the 1986 amnesty for what turned out to be more than half the five million illegal immigrants in the country. Reagan was uncomfortable with the amnesty but was persuaded by some of the leaders of his own party (still living) that it would only affect a small number of illegal immigrants and would assure that Congress would follow through with more vigorous enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.
VDare 2/16/2013
Looking around my old neighborhood, things had changed. Illegal aliens from Mexico and Central America had transformed the complexion of my city, and I don’t mean because of their color.
Their culture was inferior to American culture. It’s not fashionable these days to say that, but I’m well past the point of worrying about what is fashionable. Truth is what matters now–more than ever. Only truth can make a positive change in our world.
The illegal aliens lived–and live–in a manner that tolerates uncleanliness, disorganization, crime, and degradation well beyond that of what American citizens will. So my city (and others like it) had started a downward slide.
Years later, after leaving and coming back again to visit my old neighborhood, the degradation was much more evident–the transformation from paradise to s—hole was complete.
Today’s California–unrecognizable yet predictably so
Which brings me to today. I woke up to find that–not surprisingly–California Governor Gavin Newsom beat back the Recall. Essentially, Californians had chosen this comically slick, ridiculously corrupt entity over Larry Elder, conservative Republican and long-time talk-radio fixture from Southern California.
I remember listening to Larry for hours and hours on many long Southern California commutes. “The Sage From South Central” has more brains and decency in his pinky than Newsom has in his whole body.
Californians have chosen their “Barabbas.” And they will have to live with that.
How did Newsom interpret his victory? “We said ‘Yes’ to vaccines.” And by that, he clearly means “forced vaccines.” Nice job, California! Nothing like putting yourself into slavery.
And now state Democrats want to make sure they never have to face a Recall again.
Many of us will be scratching our heads wondering how this could happen. I’ll tell you: It has something to do with the complete collapse of the California Republican Party, which started long ago, and which I discussed in 2018 on a post and video.
This included the Party’s outrageous refusal to back the popular Orange County Congressman Bob Dornan, when Democrat Loretta Sanchez (and illegal alien champion) was elected due to voting fraud. In other words, it appears that illegal alien voters gave Sanchez the margin she needed in an election she won by just 984 votes!
Simply put–you can trace corrupt Newsom’s defeat of the Recall to the no-doubt millions of illegal alien voters and related degradated culture in California. Yes, there are many other factors, and the media is already stepping in to provide their own reasons, but they’ll never tell you the biggest reason politicians like Gavin Newsom got into office and STAY in office–the complete transformation–and degradation–of California through illegal immigration.
When you live in degradation, it may be all you know. But those of us who have lived in California during the golden days know better. We know the difference between a paradise and a s—hole.
Postscript: Is there hope for California?
For the benefit of my friends and millions of decent people in the Golden State, I want to say that as long as we’re standing on two feet, there is ALWAYS hope. Don’t slit your wrists! There will be another election next year in California (Larry hints that he’ll be back), and by then the people there may finally wake up to the tyrant they’ve just empowered. But major election reforms need to happen there and will that occur?
Certainly, there will still be millions of illegal alien voters then, and massive corruption led by King Newsom.
But anything is possible, and if California–like the rest of America–is willing to humble themselves before their true God, then miracles can happen. Short of that, I do not see a happy end in sight.
Patrick Rooney is the Founder of OldSchoolUs.com. He communicates clearly and fearlessly during perilous times about natural health, success, and freedom. To reach Patrick, email him at [email protected]. To Support the critical work of Old School, go HERE.