Why We Hate Ourselves And The Good Old Days

While listening to TV the other day (I was actually reading a book with the television on - ever do that?), my ears picked up on people talking about the "good old days."
The narrator described some of the things people he had interviewed said they really missed. One was letter writing. A woman had made a New Year's resolution to get back to letter writing in 2009. She said there was something she missed about putting her hand to paper and writing a real letter.
One fellow said he missed dusty old bookstores and would take the time to check them out again. That was something I've never given up...old bookstores.
The TV show took us into a 1960s home where a woman and her family lived with 1960s furniture and other stuff from that decade. She said things aren't made that good any more.
Some people talked about how they missed muscle cars, the Lindy Hop (do you know what that is?), drive-in theaters, guilt-free eating, penny candy, and 1969 Cameros.
The more I listened (and finally watched), I found the discussion centered around a book written by Dick Meyer titled "Why We Hate Us." That title alone was interesting enough to make me really pay attention. But the second part of the title added a bonus: "American Discontent in the New Millennium." Yep! That's us! We are pretty discontented right now, wouldn't you say?
The author is the editorial director for NPR's digital media and is responsible for all news, entertainment, and music content on NPR.org and NPR's other digital platforms. He's also president of Meyer & Associates, a consulting firm.
In his book, Meyer argues that a lack of trust in public leadership and an overall weakening of public morality are part of why we hate ourselves.
Meyer says, "The 1960s was a symbolic turning point."
He feels that decade was a time when personal choice became more important than following tradition. Of course, times were tough in those days...tough for not only blacks and whites, but for women and gays and American Indians and Asians. So? What's changed?
I checked to see if we have the book in the library and we don't at this time. But I've asked that it be ordered.
If you're missing the "good old days," too, then be sure to watch for this book in our library. It will be here before long, and it promises to be some good reading.