85 Years Ago

My mother was born 85 years ago today.  We are 25 years apart in age, so there is always a perspective of the quarter century between she and I.  When my parents had their 50th wedding anniversary we did a look back at that year, but I had never done it for the year my mother was born.
1934 saw the turning point in the Great Depression in America with unemployment decreasing to 22% (which sounds terrible, but is down from about a third of the population), whereas in other parts of the world  it was arguably one of the worst years of the Great Depression with the world's economy hit rock bottom. As the situation seemed increasingly hopeless, more and more people turned to whoever promised them a better life. At this time in history, the rising leaders used peoples' fears and prejudices to rally support and create a scapegoat for the world's problems.  That sounds familiar.  Hitler declared himself the fuhrer, Stalin was on a rampage, and Mussolini was re--elected, solidifying support for Fascism.  On the other hand, Bonnie and Clyde were caught and John Dillinger was gunned down in a shoot out--the America of old was closing out and our era of rise was beginning.