You leveled my enthusiasm for the 50's with examples of the not so good aspects of the times.  I just want to draw attention to the very real downside to an otherwise great period in our history: Widows and orphans.

After the war we moved into a development restricted to vets and widows of vets. With no thinking at all, I can come up with at least a dozen childhood friends being raised by moms.  I bet, with a considered thought, I could get a dozen more names.  Funny thing: I don't recall ANY OF THEM brooding about their loss, nor do I recall any of my friend's mothers retreating from interactions with the community.  This may be attributable to the childhood many of the moms experienced as children, themselves...  the unthinkable number of casualties from the 'Great War.'  From the time we entered WWI to the end of WWII a mere 30+ years passed.  So, it occurs to me that wartime losses were part of the zeitgeist of the times:  Perhaps, thinking such as, Terrible yes, but mother got us through it, so I can get us through this... was an attitude widely shared.  These were truly great women-- ushering in the '60s and the women's movement.

Bob