Reply to Little House on the Prairie Reboot!

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]PP.  But weren't the debts mostly related to the farms not working out?  I don't think Charles had much other skill to offer. You will remember the many disasters they experienced with weather and crops.

As for alcoholism, I'm not going to condone it but that was pretty much the most common escapism/entertainment they had.

I've been doing my European genealogy and they were pretty much living the same life ... hand to mouth farmers with a tendency towards alcoholism.  Moved to the U.S., became factory workers, got compulsory public education, started bettering themselves and joined the white collar world.  I think this was a ubiquitous part of the Agricultural Revolution transition.[/quote]

PP here. From what I remember, there were issues where Pa would be too drunk to harvest their crops, and the whole family would have starved if not for the help of others. The debts came because he was a terrible businessman.

The real problem, though, is this idealized version of what prairie life was like. The "Good Old Days" fallacy, similar to what we do with the 1950s. It sets people up to think we need to go back to those times.

Which is why there's a growing number of men (and sadly, women) who want to revoke women's rights, because they think that they would be successful and their wives would support them and everyone would be happy if only we could go back to those times when people had zero other options. See: MAGA.

When the reality is that most men wouldn't be successful, women would be trapped in abusive marriages, children would die and be abused, substance abuse and mental health disorders run rampant, and most would be in poverty.

I would fully support a historically accurate version. Show people what life was really like and that the American Dream wasn't a reality. We want progress, not reverting back to the past. [/quote]

Have we read the same books? Sure LIW left out things, but the books still contain plenty of difficulties. Living in a dugout with a dirt floor. Bears and panthers and wolves. A cousin getting stung by so many bees they had to wrap him in a sheet. Blizzards and tornados that killed people. Laura almost drowning in the creek. Mary going blind. Children getting lost on the prairie. Leeches. Failed crops. Frostbite. Starving during the long winter. Prairie fires.

As for the heavy editing by Rose Wilder Lane to reflect her political views: Maybe so, but there is plenty of collectivism in the books. Ma's desire for church community and the family's deep respect for Rev. Alden. The church suppers and socials. The barrels they received from back east with clothing and toys. Almanzo and Cap risking their lives to save the people of DeSmet. The doctor who cared for the family when they were suffering from malaria. Pa and Almanzo riding out on the prairie after a storm to see if anyone needs help. Neighbors banding together in the Big Woods for pig slaughtering. The family's relationship with Mr. Edwards.[/quote]

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