Me too. We really had and still have the advantages, being just in front of the baby boomers. Jobs were plentiful, college was unbelieveably cheap, concern for the future wasn't even serious until Sputnik in JrHigh. Science class got more serious then. I never even heard of marijuana until college. The Soviet Union was kind of a cool enemy, in a MadMagazine kind of way.
It's pretty weird that the birthday card this year is Medicaid eligibility. We sneak in on everything before it gets cut.
But, I don't blame us. I think it's more viewpoints that got more globally centered and less community and neighborhood centered that caused the lack of societal restraints. May I be outrageous and say maybe what messed everything up is when Moms just about all went to work, and nobody has the full time job of raising the kids and being part of community values and activities?
Absolutely!
When the once-optional middle-class second income became commonplace, there was sufficient inflation to deepen the poverty of the indigent and push for the plethora of social programs we are stuck with now, and drive prices up for the remainder.
That was just the economic aspect, but that drove more families to either make concessions in their lifestyle or to have mom go to work.
Which left the kids to be raised by the State, school, etc., daycare (State approved), and lessened the quality time parents had for their children. That broke cultural continuity for a vast number of people.
Mom already had a job, one more important than any other.