I worked at a big box store all through the Carter Depression years. Wasn't interested in politics much. Not at my age, 16-20 years old at that time.
Only recently have I marveled at how lucky I was to have a steady, albeit part-time job at that time. I had more than I deserved, blessed no doubt, and didn't realize it.
Those were bad years for a lot of people, but not this dumb young kid.
At that age, you just live. If nobody introduces you to politics....you just live.
Me and all my friends, we just lived. And had a lot of fun. We didn't have worries. We just made it though....somehow.
Back then I had just started my Air Force career after enlisting in 1975.
I was on Titan II Missile Combat Crew and we were deep in the center of fighting the Cold War. The daily Intel briefings sometimes curled your toes and the Alerts were tough and dangerous (we were one of a handful of jobs authorized hazardous Duty Pay inside CONUS).
We were young and partied like heck off duty and pulled Alerts ten times per month and were all keenly aware of politics, both national and international.
They were really tough but good times.