I do not despair and neither do I believe silly headlines. Faith in God implies belief in an end to all earthly things. I believe there is more evidence for that outcome than anything like Mars travel.
I remember those years, too. Communism was not ascendant. The love of freedom was common and America was strong and essentially united on the belief of our just cause. Politicians gave away Viet Nam - not Americans. Decades of agitation and propaganda do not dim my recollections.
Actually real wealth is sourced from natural resources and, on that account, we produce less and less each year even if our consumption goes up at the cost of our seed corn. If you believe in fictional basis for wealth - as in information and service economies, then, yes, creative accounting allows for more dollars in our GDP. However, debased currency may put that willow-the-wisp to rest as well.
Yes, tis true we produce more food than ever before, but I would have to disagree that we live better and I think by most measures we have lost, rather than gained, ground.
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Those are the guys that put man on the moon, they have street cred.
We do more and more with less and less resources, increasing the wealth from fewer natural resources by being conservative, and wasting less.
Crime is actually down, if you look at the stats, and ignore the media.
In the '60s, concealed firearms were not legal in my state. Today, they are.
Fortunately, your belief in any technological breakthrough isn't required for it to happen.
/johnny