When Were The Good Old Days?

 I suppose it’s only natural for human beings to look back on the past with fondness and longing. All of us, no matter what trauma may have afflicted us in life, have at least a few comforting memories from the past. There is a common phrase we give for this nostalgic impulse—The Good Old Days. While I may have gotten annoyed when my parents talked about the past so glowingly, I find myself just as guilty now that I’m older. It’s in the water, part of the air we breathe. But there’s something about this nostalgia business that frustrates me.

I grew up in the 1960’s. Everything about that experience helped shape me, the political upheaval, black and white television, the fashion, sports, music, the food, everything. To this day I prefer the early 1970’s version of baseball with its base stealing, bunting, and starting pitchers that pitched complete games. I believe that nothing that has come on the music scene since The Beatles compares. I think that the way I grew up is better than the way we are raising kids today. Spending endless hours outside is so superior to the cloistered existence of video gaming, it’s laughable. However, these preferences of mine are not hard and fast absolutes, and even if they were, they don’t tell the whole story. There was plenty about the 1960’s that was terrible, the political violence, Vietnam, the horrific pollution.

So I guess the problem I have with The Good Old days is the obvious question—when were The Good Old Days?

There can never be a consensus on this issue, since every generation will offer a different answer. But let me try to offer my answer which has two parts. The first part of the answer is: We are living in them! The second part of my answer is: The Good Old Days are the days yet to come.

I can practically hear some of you yelling into your computer screens at my assertion that we are living in the good old days right now. “Have you seen that moron in the White House?? We are one hiccup away from nuclear war!! AI will kill us all!!” Ok. In the 1960’s 50,000 American soldiers were in the process of being slaughtered in Southeast Asia, our major cities were burning and Presidents and Presidential candidates were being shot and my elementary school was doing duck and cover nuclear attack drills. And yet, I look back on those days with warmth and longing. Guess what. Someday, the 2020’s will be someone else’s good old days.

We all suffer from recency bias, the things we experience in the moment seem the worst or best of “all time.” But by practically every measurable aspect of human life quality we are indeed living in the very best of times. The fact is that the middle class in America live better than any king during the Middle Ages. A mere 100 years ago, no human being had ever enjoyed the simple pleasure of a…hot shower. My father grew up without indoor plumbing. Air conditioning was a pipe dream. The leading cause of death in America was…the flu.

But what really excites me are the good old days that are to come. This requires an imagination and an attitude informed by history that acknowledges the irrefutable fact that every generation generally has it better than the ones before. This is not true in every conceivable measurement, of course. Sometimes, civilization regresses. But the verdict of history is clear that over the vast majority of human history, life has stubbornly gotten better with the passage of time. 

Confidence is a fragile thing. Our 24/7 news cycle conspires against it. The human spirit is easily crushed. But that spirit always endures. Those who chose to look for the best in people, those who don’t fear the future, those who eagerly await innovations will indeed look back on the heady days of the 2040’s with pride.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that when many people look at younger generations and despair, I look at those same people and become optimistic. For one thing, my kids are part of these new generations, along with their friends. I watch how they live their lives and come to the conclusion that in many ways they are better humans than I was at their age. They are smart, tech savvy, and hard working, and not nearly as consumer-obsessed as my generation was. I would be willing to trade every single United States Senator and Representative over the age of 70 with any fifty random kids working two jobs paying back their college loans and trying to raise a family.

So, my Good Old Days are today, right now…and the wonderful days to come.