The Myth of the Good Old Days
This is very, very smart.
It may seem that way looking back on it, but that’s just confirmation bias: younger people didn’t live back then, so they see and know only the good stuff. Older folks see it better because it’s less unfamiliar and chaotic then the rapidly changing world they live in now. There’s always been bad music. There’s always been infidelity. Drug abuse and teen pregnancy isn’t new, while divorce would have been just as high in the past were it legal (spousal abuse and patriarchy have been prevalent throughout history).
And also:
The 1950s seemed idyllic, and gets cited a lot as one of the high points of our society. But that’s mostly if you were a white heterosexual male. The era of our Founders seemed more virtuous political, until you factor in the treatment of Blacks, Natives, and women
(Source: brute-reason)