Regardless of Bernie's remarks, the truth is that the question has no factual answer. Whether life was better then depends entirely on one's point of view. And indeed, no matter what year you want to talk about, in human life it is always the best of times or the worst of times - for somebody, Your answer hinges on whether you feel safe or threatened, loved or unloved, hopeful or despairing.
I am amused at some people's comments on YouTube and in other places, people who were children or teenagers then - Oh, what a glorious time it was to be alive, a golden age! The music, the clothes, the cars - and everybody was so kind and courteous and loving. Well, no, that's not the way it was - it was far from a golden age, as this CBS news summary makes clear, for anyone who cares to look back at the reality of 1975:
However, I will say that compared to the state of the world today and the polarized society we now live in, it was easier to live without fear and dread back then. The world was already quite complex in those days, but it all seemed more understandable somehow - and it was easier to hope that tomorrow would be better. But now we live in a world seemingly controlled in nearly every detail by nosy machines and callous trillionaires. Since this old man's exit will be coming up sooner than later, I don't obsess about these things, though I deplore them heartily. But God help the younger generations.
Speaking of whom, someone has come up with a way to assimilate them even faster into the Hive Mind: watch this report and shudder.
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