When Were the ‘Good Old Days?’

Among the dilemmas I find myself often facing is whether or not the “good old days” really were in fact the best of times or is that simply a generational term.

I mean did people 25, 50 or 100 years ago ever refer to the “good old days” when they were talking about a time period before the present?  Of course only those say 60 years of age or older would likely ever use the term and I think the older you get the more likely you are to refer to some time period in your past life as the “good old days.”

I do wonder if 50 years from now, long after I’m gone if that term will be used by my children who will be in their 70s and 80s.

I think more than anything else those words were and are used to describe what we view a simpler times.  Life seemed to move a lot slower, partly because we don’t have all the conveniences we have today.  You patiently stood in line for things we don’t do often today, from cashing a check in the bank to buying a cup of coffee. Now we just used a drive-thru, ATM or online banking.

Traffic, especially in Ocean County, was really only seasonal and once you got past Labor Day getting from one point to another was a breeze. My how things have changed.

Dinner time was family time when you recounted the events of the day. Now eating together is often a once-in-a-while occurrence and who really needs to talk to each other when you can simply text throughout the day about what’s going on.

I really think what this comes down to is that as we get older we get more nostalgic and tend to look back on life with rose-tinted glasses.  Yes life was simpler and slower and maybe people were more respectful but it was far from perfect.  Women were expected to raise families and not have careers, minorities were often treated as second-class citizens and accepted sexual behavior left many as outcasts even within their own family.

Life does move too fast today but it also comes with benefits that most could not dream of and if you think and look objectively you will likely realize that the “good old days” might not have been quite as good as you thought they were.