The New Progressive Era?

At the turn of the 20th century we saw the rise of the so-called muckrakers: Journalists and activists who voiced loud and clear the inadequacies of the system in place, the squalid living conditions the new urban dwellers lived in but could not thrive in--the future looked dim.

Too much pollution:

Pollution in the background in Salt Lake City, Utah in the 1930s

Not enough green, no safe places for children to play in, overcrowding, trash everywhere in the cities:

No work regulations, people often working 6 days a week for more than 10 hours per day including kids:

No food regulations:

Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle exposed the conditions of the food industry. Rats and spoiled meat and whatever else lying on the floor would be swept up and mixed with the fresh meat for processing. His book led to massive public outcry and to reform and Congress created what would become the FDA in 1906 with the Food and Drugs Act.

The last line on the poster they are holding is: Eat Fresh Vegetables. This photo must have been taken in the early 1920s. And here we are in 2011 still trying to tell ourselves to eat fresh vegetables.

The trip to the past or to the progressive era is that we're facing many of the same issues now.

Then:

Now:

Kolkata

Only the same issues, the same fights from the same positions that people faced over a hundred years ago are being fought in countries that are not Western Europe that isn't the United States. This isn't to say that the United States aren't facing the same issues only we've regressed, we've taken a few steps back by being perhaps too comfortable-we need to constantly be aware that urban life has many drawbacks on quality of life and the quality of living.