Oh, come on. I was avoiding the political, but that characterization is ridiculous.
This is what people from 1985 would be really shocked about:
Four Star Admiral and Assistant Secretary of Health is a trans man.
The Secretary of Transportation is a gay man who took time off to have a child with his husband.
‘Drag time story hour for children’ is a thing. Gender transition for minors is a thing.
Not only did the military accept gays, it also accepts trans people - even encourages gay and trans people to join and runs ‘pride’ ads.
Not only would the average person in 1985 be shocked by this, they would be apalled. Democrats, Republicans, doesn’t matter.
The idea that the U.S. has been descending into a religious hellscape is a complete fantasy. Church attendance is at an all-time low: In 1985 71% of the population were members of a church. Today it’s 47%. In 1988 only 18% of the public supported gay marriage. Today it is 71%.
Not only would the people of 1985 of all parties heavily oppose all of the above, they would likely see our current time as a liberal dystopia, not a fascist nightmare. Seeing the future would have killed support for gay rights in the 80’s and 90’s.
From your standpoint, huge progress has been made. The average person of 1985 had attitudes you would consider highly offensive today, on a whole host of subjects. Take the win.