Social Uprising on the Horizon?

what exactly do you propose to do, confiscate all gold in private hands? i think that a VP candidate in the 90's strongly believed in the gold standard, but had only a vague idea of how to implement one. obviously gold has been used as a hedge against inflation since the early 70's when the price was allowed to fluctuate with market value. i would imagine that trying to back dollars with gold now would just allow gold owners to profit unrealistically, or is that the intention?

as with most other aspects of our civilization, our way of living has evolved to where we are today. i finished high school and went to university in the 1950's and sure don't recall any great social bloom. i got a student loan to attend university and got a bank loan in 1956 to purchase my first car. my brother co-signed the loan, and i was living at home. my first serious job interview when i was in my early 20's was for an expanding insurance company. the interviewer spent most of the time explaining the companies retirement program for when i was 65. frankly he terrified me! the notion of locking in my life for 45 years was nothing but scary. on reflection now i still feel that way.
in the 50's school counselors advised students on either the university or general programs. the latter meaning a trade or semi-skilled job future. this was the way our forefathers lived i suppose and today we can look back and wonder if this was really 'living'. a lot of people knew that they would never own a house but most could buy a car. major economic and social choices were probably restricted to those with family or inherited money. my ancestors emigrated to North America for a better way of life and social freedoms. indubitably they found both. i am not sure what, if any, sacrifices they made.
many of the technological items that we want or require did not exist then, so they were no sacrifice.
my mother was stay-at-home because she had 6 children, home based employment was virtually non-existent and job choices for middle-aged people were few. she did not see her role as a sacrifice. she had a good social life and did volunteer work. they always owned a house, a car and even a vacation cottage.
i am not sure what sacrifices made our society 'great' unless you are referring to those who gave their lives in the Wars. that was true sacrifice, and we have brave youth dying in Wars today.
if you live in urban North America today it is unlikely that you could ever save enough to purchase a house. saving enough for a down-payment can even be a challenge. starter homes are usually in suburbs far from central business districts, this necessitates long commutes and more time away from family. many families cannot survive without both parents working. job choices and opportunities are great, but job permanence is rare outside the professions. children are being educated to adapt with technology and think with flexibilty which will enable career moves with ease. the work force is also being warned to stay mobile and to invest in continual educational upgrades. we have toys and gadgets, we are better educated, we read more, we are healthier, we make more money and we have leisure time. we travel more and we have world views and perspectives far beyond those of our forebears. we live in a world of incredible and expanding technological development. a small percentage of society may be lazy and inebriated and a small percentage may be greedy, money obsessed and anti-social. i don't see social revolution as any answer, instead i see involvement in the democratic process as the solution. get involved, stay involved. dedicated, committed individuals or small groups are probably the only effective instruments for social, political or economic change.