Marilyn Armstrong posed an interesting question on her blog today. She asked,
Do you think of your past as “The Good Old Days”?
I think a little context might help set the table before I begin to a answer this question. I had the good fortune to be born to a white, middle-class, suburban family. They weren’t wealthy; both my mother and father had to work to make ends meet, but we had all the necessities we needed and I never felt deprived as a child. Had the circumstances of my birth been different, my perspective of my past would likely be different, too.
As an old timer, I have to admit that, yes, I do think back on my past as The Good Old Days. I was young, physically fit, full of vim and vigor, as well as piss and vinegar. I was invincible. And yes, life was simpler, less complex, slower. There were no personal computers back then. I was almost 40 when I got my first PC. No internet. No cellphones. No cable TV. No digital cameras. No 24-hour news channels, no music or video streaming.
When you wanted to talk with someone, you had to call them on the telephone (landline) or visit them face-to-face or write them a letter, which could take a few days to a week to be delivered. No dating apps, no email, no texting, no Facetime. No Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat.
The world was more local. Life was manageable, time seemed infinite. There were boundaries. The truth felt true and lies felt like lies. No audio or video deepfakes. No alternative facts.
I’m not saying life was perfect back then. There was Vietnam. There was significant racial unrest and riots. There were assassinations — JFK, RFK, MLK, Jr. There was the Cold War. The disastrous War on Drugs. So there were serious issues we had do deal with, but the world hadn’t yet gone insane.
I may be looking at my past through rose-colored glasses, but when I try to imagine being a teenager or a young adult in today’s interconnected, 24×7, fast-paced, partisan, conspiracy theories-filled, crazy world, I don’t think I’d be a happy camper. I’m glad I was around during The Good Old Days.
This, That, and the Other 
I’m glad you had a normal childhood. Many kids spent childhood planning an early escape. I got lucky and was out at 17. It could have been a lot worse.
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I sort of got out at 18. I lived on campus for about nine months a year until I graduated. Then moved home for a few months until my army active duty called. It took me a few months after that to find my own place. As “normal” as my childhood was, I was eager to get out on my own.
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We also tend to look at past through rose colored glasses
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Are You Happy Now? – 6th October 2023
Back in the good old days
Of feeling miserable and sad
Never could consider the ways
To stop from feeling bad
Depression in the dark room stays
Endlessly elevating the mad
Safely hidden away from praise
Scribbling it all out on a pad
The written word rarely pays
But surely makes one glad
No matter what anyone else says
Those were the times that were had
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I reckon it’s governed by age. We forget a lot of old crap, and remember more recent crap. All this “make America Great Again” is simply a slogan, for example.
Here, people will talk about the days when you felt so safe, you didn’t need to lock your front door. I would argue that there was never such a time, or at least it depends on where you live, not when you lived.
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The good old days, and you’re right there were some parts I will happily remember, but it wasn’t perfect.
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Good post Fandango. I was born in 1956 and times were indeed different. I miss the simplicity of the times as a child, and remember the ‘old stuff’ like writing letters, playing games in the street, and holding conversations. Attitudes were different then too, but then I was a child, not an adult and it was years before I realised just how difficult it had been for my parents to provide us with the important things. I wish there was a ‘balance switch’ to even things out between then and now.
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I think we all wear rose colored glasses to a point when it comes to our past, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t wonderful. We often have forgiven those things/people in the past that weren’t so good or we could never be happy.
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