There's a tendency to look at the past as somehow better. I remember when I was still a kid, there were lots of adults that talked about the "good old days". And back then, I wondered just what was so good about them.
The generation before mine lived through the Great Depression, WWII, and Korea. I suppose I'm sort of the tail end of the VietNam generation, but that war was basically over by the time I was 16. So when were their "good old days"? I'm thinking they were after V-E Day and V-J Day, up through the 50's and the first half of the 60's, which seem like idyllic times.
For me, what do I consider good about my own "good old days"? Here are some of them.
No crime. We kept our doors unlocked and the keys in the car and our bicycles outside the house, school, or library. Nothing ever was stolen. (Well, a delinquent kid down the street stole some stuff, but he got caught and had to spend a day shoveling rabbit manure to pay it back.)
Intact families. I remember my parents feeling very sorry for "broken families". The few kids I knew living with a divorced parent were messed up; if not actual delinquents, definitely in need of counseling.
Freedom. I rode my bicycle everywhere. Of course, my permitted range was controlled, but as I got older the range got expanded, until I was basically free to ride my bike anywhere in town. Today it's just the neglectful parents that give their kids that kind of freedom.
Friends. For me, the "good old days" were when I had friends. But before you start thinking I'm just feeling sorry for myself, let me explain what I mean by "friends". Friends were people you were so comfortable with that you could stop by their home or they yours at any time for any reason. They were sort of like a part of a big extended family. If that sort of thing happens anywhere today, it's either not happening here or the whole town is conspiring to keep it secret from me.
Simplicity. We never had much, but never needed much. The TV only got 3 channels, until PBS showed up to make if 4. Even then, the ABC station never really came in very well, so it didn't quite count. There were no computers or video games. Our lives were simple. We got our work done and then played until dinner. My mother was the best cook in the galaxy, and our entire family was almost always present for dinner (until we got to high school, which began to change that). Then before bedtime we might watch one or two television shows, unless it was summertime, when everything on TV was a rerun and it was more fun to go back outside to play. But when the TV was on, the adults-only content of today just wasn't there: Now you think it's safe to watch a family-oriented show, when suddenly it's wrecked by a bawdy "Desperate Housewives" commercial.
Innocence. Expanding on the theme that started above in "Simplicity", I never knew the first thing about promiscuity, homosexuality, abortion, transgenders, etc. And today I wish I'd never found out. From a "good old days" perspective, I suppose this is the number one thing I want back: my innocence. And it's sad to see such cynicism in my own children, who found out about such things way too early.
So yes, I do sort of look back longingly at lots of things from the past, but I suppose Billy Joel got it close to the mark with "The good old days weren't always good, and tomorrow's not as bad as it seems."
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