16 Reasons Why Things Weren’t Always Better in the Good Old Days
Many of us know someone who constantly talks about the “good old days.” The problem? From an objective, societal viewpoint, past decades weren’t always better.
Nostalgia plays a huge role in why people think the good old days were better. Psychologists describe nostalgia as a natural process and something that can help people anchor their identity, giving us a feeling of stability and predictability. But in the case of the “good old days,” nostalgia often lies to us.
We combed through historical data to show why things weren’t better in the good old days. That said, when we say things weren’t better, we’re looking at it through a societal lens; the past may very well have been better for certain individuals.
1: Credit Card Permission
Until 1974, women weren’t allowed to apply for a credit card in their own name. This made many women financially dependent on men, as they couldn’t build credit to get a mortgage or a car loan.
2: Lower Life Expectancy
During the 160-year period from 1860 to 2020, the life expectancy in the U.S. rose from 39.4 years to 78.9 years. Infant and child fatalities made up a significant portion of mortality rates in the 1800s. They no longer do.
3: More Poverty
Although there’s still work to be done, world poverty was much higher in the past than it is now. In 1990, 38% of the world was living in extreme poverty. In 2019, only 9.1% held that title, meaning that 47 million people rose out of extreme poverty every year during that time frame.
4: Less Equality
Slavery wasn’t abolished until 1865. Women didn’t have the right to vote until 1920. Segregation didn’t end until 1964. Life surely wasn’t better in the past for people living under these oppressed conditions.
5: Fewer Travel Opportunities
It wasn’t until 1957 that planes replaced boats as the preferred way to cross the Atlantic Ocean. This was also the time when air travel started becoming more economical. In the years leading up to that time, flying was exclusively for the elite who could afford it.
6: Undeveloped Medicine
Penicillin was discovered in 1928, but it wasn’t until 1942 that doctors began treating patients with it. Since then, scientists have developed approximately 150 antibiotics in 31 classes. Some estimate that the invention of penicillin has saved more than 200 million lives.
7: Military Drafts
The American government implemented a peacetime draft in 1940, which lasted until 1973, with the exception of one year. During the Vietnam War, approximately 1.9 million Americans were drafted to serve.
8: More War Fatalities
Since 1946, the global number of people losing their lives in war has been on a downward trend. It’s also more common for wars around the world to happen between domestic groups rather than different states.
9: Lower Graduation Rates
In 1910, only 13.5% of Americans 25 years and older had completed high school. Fast forward to 2019, and high school graduation rates are at 90.1%. Similarly, whereas only 2.7% of Americans 25 years and older held bachelor’s degrees or higher in 1910, 36% held them in 2019.
10: Poorer Education
During colonial times, education was a mixed bag for American children. There was no standardization among what was taught, and free public education didn’t start in the U.S. until the mid-19th century. The story even goes that George Washington received education in his early years from a schoolmaster who “knew next to nothing.”
11: Less Interconnectedness
While there’s an argument to be made about technology making people less social, it’s undeniably made it easier for people from different parts of the world to connect with each other. The cross-cultural exchange of ideas and education has been invaluable to many, particularly those living in developing nations.
12: Danger on the Job
Workplace safety has vastly improved in the U.S. over the years. For example, in 1900, approximately 300 out of every 100,000 miners lost their lives while working. In 2021, 19.6 coal mining fatalities occurred per 100,000 full-time workers.
13: No Domestic Abuse Laws
Under Old English common law, early American settler men were legally allowed to inflict harm on their wives for “correctional purposes.” In 1975, most (but not all) states permitted wives to bring a criminal case against an abusive spouse, and it wasn’t until 1990 that judges were permitted to consider spousal abuse as part of their determination about child custody or visitation rights.
14: Less Vulnerability
In the past, American culture valued not wearing one’s emotions on their sleeve or talking about taboo topics. That’s evolving, and therapists are celebrating it. Being vulnerable with people one trusts can help build better relationships, resilience, and make people feel less alone with their feelings and experiences.
15: Diseases Abounded
Hib, anyone? Many diseases are essentially eradicated or are under control thanks to vaccines. It’s practically unheard of for an American to develop polio, tetanus, and measles nowadays.
16: Age Discrimination
In 1967, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) was signed into law. Since that time, it’s been illegal for employers to discriminate against applicants and employees who are 40 years of age and older when hiring, offering promotions, compensation negotiations, and more.
Declinism
When people talk about the good old days, they often say it with the conviction that there’s little hope for the future. That’s declinism. The negativity from a person with a declinist attitude can be geared towards things like a country, an economy, or the world as a whole.
1950s Perfection
In his quest to discover when the good old days truly were, podcaster Jason Feifer reached out to Americans to get their take. The answer he received the most was the 1950s.
But here’s the problem: Upon Feifer consulting with historians about his findings, they said that was most definitely not the truth. Racial and class tensions were high in the 1950s. Sociologists were concerned that the spread of individualism was destroying families. And let’s not even start with the threat of nuclear annihilation.
The Cycle Continues
When Feifer asked people who lived through the 1950s whether they thought those were the good days, they appeared to agree with historians. So, what decade do people from the 1950s think were the good old days? The 1920s.
Of course, there were problems there too. The concept of traditional American families was at risk in the eyes of those living in the 1920s, for divorce rates were increasing. The Victorian era was surely better. But, no, people back then were, in some cases, literally worried sick over the change in pace of life that railroads and telegraphs brought; a new fatigue and anxiety-inducing disease was named during that time.
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