Bicentennial Celebration of 1976
Posted by AllReihledUp@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 50 comments
Am a solid Gen X, born in 1971 (the 1900's. Ugh.) Was reminiscing to some of the 20-somethings at work about the Bicentennial in 1976, and all the patriotic murals, municipal projects, and all things red, white, and blue. I was only five at the time, but I remember my red white and blue keds and decorating my bike with crepe streamers.
Turns out that 5 of the 5 I talked to had no memories of the Bicentennial, of course, as they hadn't been born yet. But what blew my mind is these kids had NEVER HEARD of the Bicentennial and had no clue why we celebrated with gusto that whole year.
Now we are "celebrating" our 250th year as a country, and over half our population doesn't know why, or has no desire to celebrate due to current political climate. It's sad that the great experiment in democracy is losing momentum.
And *please* get these damn kids off my lawn.
tanhauser_gates_@reddit
This picture made me retch.
I had nothing like growing up.
Cruise1313@reddit
It makes me retch because this was everyday in my house. I cannot stand cigarette smoke because I was constantly exposed to it growing up. š¤®
evilJaze@reddit
Same. Two chain smoking parents, literally every relative smoked. Everyone smoked in their cars with the windows shut tight in the winter. Smoking was allowed everywhere I went. There was no escape unless I went outside.
Cruise1313@reddit
It was awful. I also had other relatives and their friends, my parents friends who all smoked in the house and cars. It was suffocating. I too spent a lot of time outside.
OKiluvUBuhBai@reddit
Not sure how this was a political or even controversial post at all but ok.
lowlatitude@reddit
I haven't encountered any murals, themes, celebrations, or anything remotely close to acknowledging 250 years.
analogpursuits@reddit
Celebration would entail having pride in one's country. The people are disgusted. What else is there to say?
GenX-ModTeam@reddit
{community rule 7}
GenX-ModTeam@reddit
No Politics - Political posts or comments of any sort are not permitted. If you wish to have political discussions, you may do so on our other sub r/GenXPolitics.
Breaking this rule may result in bans, either temporary or permanent.
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Critical-Range1213@reddit
I was born in 75, growing up it was a thing to be a ābicentennial babyā. I missed it by one month.
Own_Celebration5462@reddit
My grandma gave us bicentennial silver dollars. That is the extent I remember.
JustFaithlessness178@reddit
Yeah! Now where the heck are mine?
meat_sack@reddit
I bet Grandma got him socks and underwear.
largegreenvegtable@reddit
IGA grape pop
largegreenvegtable@reddit
GloriaToo@reddit
"A foot away from an open beer."
The horror. I hope he survived.
largegreenvegtable@reddit
Right?? My son played travel baseball, 8u -12u, and alcohol was sold at every concessions stand, lol.
Salt_Ad_9976@reddit
Pass me that blunt, Pops.
97Whaler@reddit
Good times and emphysema
Deckard_SG@reddit
Smokey and the Bandit was filmed during 1976 and some scenes have Bicentennial stuff in the background. Also, lots of smoking and beer.
Superb-Fail-9937@reddit
Thatās a Swisher Sweetā¦get it right! šš«£š«Ŗšš¤Ŗ
kperry1270@reddit
People would smoke when eating dinner
Fudloe@reddit
Must still be '76 in my house.
Snoo14546@reddit
Classic !!!! We r still goin !
FiregoatX2@reddit
Cigarillo
tvieno@reddit
I remember lots of red white and blue everywhere and a general sense of patriotism. Definitely not getting the same vibe today.Ā
Imgjim@reddit
Not a cigar, that's a More cigarette. My buddies mom used to crank through those.
SuzyQ4416@reddit
Ha, I was coming to say thatās a cigarillo. My grampy smoked White Owl cigarillos and I once snuck a good deep inhale with a swig of beer and nearly vomited on the spot.
yarn_slinger@reddit
Were those Virginia slims?
Mobile_Aioli_6252@reddit
They were super long too - like 120's
MalkyC72@reddit
Those tall ships really lifted the nationās spirits after watergate.
Ledophile@reddit
Wasnāt the āTall Shipsā convergence when scientists decided that was when HIV made it to America?ā¦ā¦ā¦
oldfogey12345@reddit
That kid is in for an ass kicking when he blows across that ash tray and makes a mess.
Disastrous_Cream_539@reddit
This picture was taken in a single wide, the kind where your footsteps sound like thunder and you hold your shits until the next McDonald's trip.
JJQuantum@reddit
I remember visiting the Freedom Train when it came to town. I have the coin from it. They had Wilt Chamberlainās basketball shoes and at 7 years old I could stand both feet in one of them.
AdvokatefortheDevil@reddit
Birthday parties always smelled like cigarette smoke, perfume and cinnamon gum.
Disastrous_Cream_539@reddit
Big Red and cinnamon Certs... the hard ones in the foil roll
Cutthechitchata-hole@reddit
Its science and sometimes with science, variables have to be changed to keep the experiment going. Why cant we figure this shit out? Greed of men.
Lab214@reddit
I remember all the hoopla and decorations. One of my class photos had the bicentennial back drop too . I remember as a kid barely understanding that our country was 200 years old. Told my kids my story of bicentennial memories and they were like ā oh okay ā. Well I hope they keep good memories of the 250th so their kids can ā oh okay ā back to them š¤¦āāļø
Hydroidal@reddit
I can smell this pic.
Mobile_Aioli_6252@reddit
That's why our generation can survive anything!
ObligationMurky8716@reddit
The "pawpaw's in a bad mood" smell
Stereo_Jungle_Child@reddit
...and after blowing really hard to put out the candles and spitting all over the cake, we all ate it anyway,
bird9066@reddit
Well, it was no worse than memere licking her finger after scraping every piece she cut onto a plate.
Ledophile@reddit
This was just the way it was. Which is probably why I started drinking and smoking at age 14ā¦ā¦.
tangodelta22@reddit
I loved my bicentennial lunchbox that I brought to kindergarten... in 1977. I'm sure my mom bought it on sale at KMart wicked cheap.
LoanDebtCollector@reddit
Gen Z has a scent of body wash called "Sneakers and Cookies", Gen X should have a scent named "Ash and Icing".
dannyvegas@reddit
The fragrance should also feature āessence of fireworks fuse lit with cigaretteā
bookon@reddit
Image trying to celebrate your birthday while being held hostage by lunatics? It just hard man.
Genuine907@reddit
My mom gave birth to my little brother two weeks before the Bicentennial. I was 4 and unimpressed with the new addition. All the memories I have of that time are about him, and about the family who came to visit when he was born. None of them are good memories. Ugh.