The 1980s brought about a decade of new conservatism in social, economic, and political life. The years were characterized by the policies of U.S. President Ronald Reagan and U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The Soviet Union was breaking down and the economy was booming.

A lot of us grew up in the 1960s and 1970s and we thought those had been a troubling time that undermined confidence in ourselves and the government. The 1980s, often remembered for its materialism and consumerism, also saw the rise of the yuppie, a young, urban professional, or “yuppie,” a baby boomer with a college education, a good-paying job and expensive taste. Consumerism soared and suburbia became all about one-upmanship.

Computers and cellphones became available for everyone; however, they were bulky and extremely expensive. The internet was created, and people were now able to access so much more information at their fingertips. Everyone started getting more interconnected and dependent on devices.

Throughout the 1970s, computers were expensive devices that remained the province of a handful of garage tinkerers and multibillion-dollar entities like IBM and NASA. but all that changed during the 1980s, the decade that introduced the world to the video game, Pac-Man.

The 1980s also brought about an explosion of blockbuster movies and the emergence of cable networks like CNN and MTV, which introduced music videos and launched the careers of many iconic artists who sought global change. Health issues such as the AIDS crisis would go on to kill more than 700,000 people in the United States alone. 

The Reagan years brought about the inauguration of a conservative president who was no great friend to the arts, or to marginalized groups, including immigrants, the poor and those who fell outside of the conventional all-American family unit. The period was defined by how people responded to their circumstances — how they lived, partied, railed against authority and, most importantly, what they did.

Unfortunately, I was a boomer but was never a yuppie, because I didn’t have a lot of money to spend. I was too busy trying to make a living as a public servant to pay for things I needed. I did, however, spend quite a bit of money on huge hair, and on clothes with huge shoulder pads (having given away my bohemian hippie clothes of the 1970s). After all, we had lots of big important meetings in those days.

And now that we are revisiting this era once again, with the incoming administration, I am worried that we forgot about all those traumatized by those years. I am worried that we have forgotten that not everyone made lots of money and spent lots of money during that time. I am worried that those downtrodden who might have been starting to rise are just going to get downtrodden once again.

It is my hope that we take one person or worthy cause into consideration this holiday season and make our mark for change. Keep being. Keep reading. Keep doing. Thanks everyone! Hugs and love to all!

For more information on the early years of the 1980s, see:

https://www.history.com/topics/1980s/1980s

History Channel documentary on the 1980s; and,

New York Times Style Magazine publication.