The past is a foreign country II: Ann Landers

“Living memory” is of course subjective, because some people are eight years old, and some are eighty eight, and most people remember very little about the recent past. But 1978 is living memory for me, if only just, and looking back at some things from that year can remind me how much we have forgotten. To illustrate, I want to present some advice Ann Landers gave in 1978 to young girls fending off the unwanted advances of grown men. I’m quoting at length here, but please follow along:

I have re...