I was born in the early 60s. When I first understood what vaccinations were, sometime in the '70s, the 1950s seemed like ancient history. I never considered that I dodged a bullet.
I have to remember this when speaking with 20-somethings.
Kids today are not taught much history. We were and lots of it. We were not allowed to forget bad things for fear that we would more easily repeat them.
In 1955 it had been:
37 years since WWII
37 years since the 1918 Flu
26 years since the start of the Great Depression
16 years since Pearl Harbor
10 years since dropping the first Atomic Bomb and the end of WWII
2 years since the truce in Korea
In 2014 it has been:
59 years since 1955
50 years since the Gulf of Tonkin incident and the start of Vietnam
46 years since the ML King riots that lasted most of the year
41 years since Nixon was impeached and left office
39 years since the Vietnam war ended with the capture of Saigon
23 years since the first Middle East War
13 years since 9/11
6 years since the beginning of the Second Dark Ages