Not surprisingly, the answer has to be a resounding no, that we cannot literally “go back” to the culture and character of 1950s Britain.  It would not be possible and, in many ways, it would not be desirable.

But what can we learn from “who we have been” in order better to chart the path to “who we want to be”?

We would suggest four lessons from the not-too-distant past that we can take on board now:

First, “taboos” were in so many cases valuable, not contemptible.  We need to stop the constant barrage against what people do feel – the constant attempt to get a reaction by shocking people.  At the moment, “shocking” people (in art or culture) is applauded.  What it actually cuts into is the unthinking habits that make us civilized.  Tradition, belief, a sense of how things “should be done” – all these things make life better, not worse.  It was Britain’s genius (for a while) that tradition did not diminish advance; it created a safe platform for it.  We need to start cherishing that platform again, and strengthening it for the future.

Second, “values” can and should exist at the societal level, not just at the individual level.  To say that values are a matter of personal choice is like saying that from now on the rules of football will be a matter for each individual player.  This would lead to a game that was both chaotic and unpleasant.   The whole point about the rules is that they regulate conduct between players and therefore cannot be a matter for individual decision.  So it is with values.  In the Britain of the 1950s and before, there was no question that society as a whole had values and that these needed to be passed on from generation to generation, and taught to the young, so that they would acquire the right habits of conduct.

Third, “character” has to be moulded, worked on.  It is not the product of “doing what comes naturally”, or of following the path of least resistance.  It is, in fact, the product of summoning all one’s will-power and ‘pluck’ to do the thing that may at times look and feels to be the most difficult, because that is what has been taught – and because that is what is admired.  So it is with sportsmen, who press themselves almost beyond endurance to excel, even though it would be much easier not to.  So it is, equally, with good character in most areas of life, including working hard, studying hard, taking responsibility, doing good and demonstrating commitment in life’s key relationships.  We tend to give up far too easily these days, largely because getting what you want when you want it has become so emphasized and even applauded.

Fourth, “faith”.  As a society and as individuals, we once saw ourselves as part of a larger story, which helped to define who we were and what life was about.  That story was the Christian story, and it said that were not just in it for ourselves, but that we should seek to do good for the benefit of others.  Much of this has lived on, but society finds few ways to reinforce it now.  In fact, the emphasis is all the other way, on self-fulfillment and on getting what we want.  Since getting what we want was always an attractive proposition, it always needed to be balanced not just by values, but by an overarching understanding that we were accountable for what we did – and, indeed, loved by God who had a vision for what we could do.  Faith gave “point” and also impetus to aspire.  For all our advances, there seems to be a pointlessness about so much of what we do, which now pervades society.  Can we again “get the point”?  It has to be hoped that we can.

What needs to be done, we feel, is to take these very positive features of a former age and seek to apply them (as far as we reasonably can) to the present day.  It is “facets” of the past we should be seeking to re-invigorate, in order to safeguard the future – rather than imagining that we can in any sense “turn the clock back”.

We are where we are, and doors that have been opened can be difficult, if not impossible, to close.  However, we can learn!

In the same way that the concrete tower blocks of the 1960s seemed so modern at the time but are now being pulled down because no-one wants to live in them, so in the moral sphere, we can conclude that it is time to tear down some of the ghastlier notions of the 1960s and replace them with values that draw from what we once knew!