The modern world – the world after World War 2 – the world on the cusp of an explosion of population, an explosion of technology and an explosion of change.
In 1947 we were scarcely out of the nightmare of a devastating war when new wars were threatening. With the Atomic Age upon us, the threat of the Atomic bomb and by 1947, the Hydrogen Bomb added a new dimension of stress and anxiety to our lives.
It didn’t help matters that we were staring down the barrel at a Cold War, where Communist and Western Democratic ideologies were clashing at an ever increasing rate since 1946 when it was discovered the Soviet Union had the secret.
Despite vast technological advances we were only just after the War looking at the issue of Civil Rights, looking at our moral fiber, noticing an astonishing rise in alcohol and drug consumption.
America was basking in economic prosperity, yet America was coming apart at the seams in emotional turmoil.
Emotional stress and tensions brought on by fears, brought on by lingering scars of war, brought on by sweeping social change – they added up to a country that looked good on the outside, but inside was another matter entirely.
This episode of The Northwestern Reviewing Stand from July 20, 1947 attempts a rather antiseptic job of explaining the problem and discussing the solution. The solution, many felt, was in the hands of modern medicine and Psychiatry. Mental Health, believe it or not, was a relatively new and almost revolutionary concept on a mass scale in 1947. Prior to World War 2 treating issues of tension and anxiety were primitive at best – Psychiatry was something upper economic classes were privy to. But as time went on and technology was bringing the world closer, it was realized Mental Health was indeed a universal issue and one relegated to the High Rent District.
This discussion attempts to tackle it, but the times in which this discussion takes place are telling in just how much work needed to be done to make Mental Health an imperative for the Human experience. As the decade wore on and by the time the 1950s arrived the changes and the attempts at a solution were in full season. It didn’t eliminate the fears of nuclear annihilation or the addictions of drugs and alcohol but there was at least an attempt to address the problem and look for a solution.
The subject matter is fascinating, especially representing the period of time – the presentation is cringeworthy in places – there were a lot of mistaken impressions and broad-stroke depictions of problems to deal with – but that was the way America was in 1947. Modern Living was complicated and it came with a price, but it had to start somewhere and 1947 seemed to be getting of to a hopeful start.
Here is that episode of The Northwestern Reviewing Stand from July 20, 1947 over the Mutual Radio Network.
