# Is there such a thing as 'the good old days?' **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 15, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-the-good-old-days/585509 "2011-06-15T00:13:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Elret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Elret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elret)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-the-good-old-days/585509/41 "2011-06-19T03:31:17Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > When I was a kid I walked or rode my bike to kindergarten class. We new every neighbor on our street. Milk was delivered and it came with a little bit of cream at the top which us kids got. TV signed off for the night and kids played with each other instead of alone for hours in front of a computer. Fast food restaurants didn’t exist nor were there chain restaurants that relied on microwave ovens to serve over-salted pre-packaged factory food. My kid walks and rides her bike to kindergarten, we know every neighbour on our street, we turn off our tv and kids play like crazy with each other. We choose not to eat at fast food or chain restaurants if we don’t enjoy the food. Yeah, my kids don’t get the cream from the top of delivered milk bottles. I get some of your point - I hate how sheltered and watched kids are and am loving the new push for letting kids have more independance. But for the most part I don’t see how your post illustrates a better time. We can still have all of those things if we choose to, plus now we have better medicine, less racism and sexism, easier travel, more access to new ideas and cultures, and really, the cream probably wasn’t very good for you. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-the-good-old-days/585509/42 "2011-06-19T04:28:01Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > **Oakminster** , I’m not sure that I agree with your vision of a better past. At least not with regards to bicycle helmets and guns. For the sake of argument, let’s throw in seatbelts as well. One could argue that our current “wussified” world is a more sensible one. We currently enjoy fewer cracked skulls, bullet holes, and human projectiles. Some nurses where I work were having this same discussion the other day, reminiscing about how they used to ride their bikes without helmets and ride unsecured in the back of pickup trucks. But as they thought about it, every one of them could name someone in their orbit who had been killed or seriously hurt doing such things. Meanwhile, I see kids in my neighborhood riding bikes without helmets all the time. Granted, I live out in the sticks where we’re a few decades behind, but the internet and organized soccer have certainly made it here and kids still seem fairly free-range. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-the-good-old-days/585509/43 "2011-06-19T04:43:30Z")
I think despite everything America is at the best its been socially since perhaps the days of the 1950s and early 60s before Vietnam. Crime is low, the inner cities have been revitalized (with sad exceptions like Detroit), digital technology has unleashed enormous amounts of information, America is strong and without serious rivals in foreign policy, and there is little social turbulance. Give me Great Depression II and let the people reunite rather than another era of hippiedom. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-the-good-old-days/585509/44 "2011-06-19T04:51:12Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > I think despite everything America is at the best its been socially since perhaps the days of the 1950s and early 60s before Vietnam. Crime is low, the inner cities have been revitalized (with sad exceptions like Detroit), digital technology has unleashed enormous amounts of information, America is strong and without serious rivals in foreign policy, and there is little social turbulance. Give me Great Depression II and let the people reunite rather than another era of hippiedom. The kid’s got a point. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-the-good-old-days/585509/45 "2011-06-19T05:01:52Z")
I think that **Zeldar** hit the nail on the head. We tend to remember the best things about the _good old days_ while ignoring the things that either hurt too badly or were off our radar. For example, IMHO, the reason that so many of us like the oldies stations on the radio, is that they ignore the really bad, stupid or unpopular songs, for the most part and only play the best of the era. Did we have bad music back then? Sure, but because it doesn’t get much airplay, we tend to forget about it (mercifully ). There were a lot of good things that I remember growing up (born in '63), but there were also things like the commonly accepted casual racism, all of the assinations, a US president resigning in disgrace and friends and family members being sent to fight (and die) in a war that had little support at home. Although there are things that I miss, I rather like living in our current time. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-the-good-old-days/585509/46 "2011-06-19T05:40:16Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I was born in 1967, so I remember the 1970s. It was definitely the “me” decade; your life’s purpose was self pleasure. Drugs were everywhere, divorce was on the rise, and everyone partied 'till they puked. There’s not a whole lot of good you can say about that decade. Well, except for the music. The best rock and folk music was written in the 1970s. > > The 1980s were the opposite. It was the Ayn Rand decade. People sobered up, joined health spas, and got MBAs. A definite improvement from the hedonistic and post-hippiesque 1970s, for the most part. But it wasn’t all peaches-n-cream; the Moral Majority infiltrated our political system, for example. But they were just a minor annoyance. > > So I look fondly back at the 1980s. It was actually a fun decade. Admittedly the music was bad (especially heavy metal), but it was _cool_. And people were not constantly plugged in to a network. Life was good. So you grew up in the '80s and that is your Good Ole Days. The 70s when I got out of school were my Good Ole Days. The music and clothes were terrible. Jimmy Carter in his sweater was quite possibly the worst president in my entire life time, and I include Nixon, Reagan and W and all the years I have yet to live. I do not see how Jimmy will ever lose the crown. I can’t drive 55! The late 70-80 cars absolutely sucked. If you can still find an American late 70/80s car that hasn’t fallen apart and is in excellent condition, they still aren’t collectable. And the economy was in the toilet, waiting for the [dot.com](http://dot.com) revolution. But for me, the 70s were an absolutely wonderful time. I was born in '56, right after the dinosaurs died, and my personal experience is all written in **Oakminster** ’s post. I could have written that. I remember the 80s as the self-obsessed cocaine and big hair years. I saw many more people self destruct at this time than any other. For me it was the end of unsettled years and the begining of all the adult responsibilities. So it just depends upon your point of view. I think that the formative, teen age early adult years will tend to be the Good Ole Days for each individual. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-the-good-old-days/585509/47 "2011-06-20T00:20:56Z")
I fucking hope not. I’m hoping 2012-2072 are my good new days. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-the-good-old-days/585509/48 "2011-06-20T03:07:46Z")
> [@mac\_bolan00](#): > > well, i miss the days when asia was a full continent. joking aside, who knows your IT slump may just be cyclical. I really miss the days when Pangea was still around. It was a hell of a lot easier to get around back then before the oceans broke us apart. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-the-good-old-days/585509.md?page=2)