It is impossible for me to speak to my grandparents without them referring to the “good old days,” a time when life was better, when life was simpler. A time period when people could leave their doors open and did not have to worry about murder and crime, all the problems that seem to plague our modern day society. In fact, my grandparents, as well as many other older people, assert that the modern world is sinking, that morality is now skewed, and that the younger generation will be our downfall. They claim, ultimately, that society has lost its values.

It would be untrue to claim that these statements are completely false. Yes, there has been some negative change in society. However, people who maintain that society has become worse often mistake any type of change as being bad. Yes, society has changed from the “good old days,” but that does not mean it has become solely poorer. Rather, our society is progressing into a more accepting and more aware civilization, one that has learned from the many mistakes of the supposed “good old days” and is attempting to fix them.Hum

The term, “good old days,” is in itself misleading. Sure, decades ago life was simpler, but simplicity does not necessarily equal “good”. In fact, this time period appears to not have really existed, but is rather a sentimental look at the past. In the past, there was still as much or more crime and prejudice; people were just less aware of it. Without as much technology, including cell phones, the internet, and even television, people were more ignorant as to what was happening in society. If a murder or crime occurred, if an injustice or unfairness was committed, then it was not as widely heard about as it would be today. Today, however, bad news circulates like wildfire. From the internet to the news, it is impossible to not be flooded with stories of murder, loss and crime. This often leads people to believe that there is more crime, that society has become worse when, in fact, it is simply just circulated more than in the past. It is easy to watch an hour of the daily news and conclude that the world is a terrible place, but doing this would simply be focusing on the bad events that occur in society and completely ignoring all the growth that we make.

This ignorance was largely a reason why the amount of prejudice in the past was indescribably heavier than today. Prejudice against women, sexual orientation, and race ruled the country, and people incessantly spewed hatred towards minorities or people who were simply different. The fact that the Civil Rights Movement did not occur until the mid-20^th century (from 1955-68) indicates that not only recently did a mentality of equality begin to become dominant, but society is now just beginning to live by this idea of equality. Women have and still consistently face sexism, but this chauvinism has slowly been diminishing, and our society seems to be heading in a direction where men and women will become seen as socially equal. Up until the past couple decades, the media included little diversity and simply encouraged stereotypes based on what was considered a “social norm.” Only recently have different minorities, women, and sexual orientations become normally incorporated into everyday life.

Finally, the amount of censorship has gone down significantly than in the past. People are more able to share how they feel and display the true face of humanity. While some may assert that this freedom is bad and is ultimately leading to the loss of values, it is really just society becoming more comfortable with embracing perspectives that have never been embraced before. Several decades ago, having a minority lead in a film or television series would have been considered strange, but that mentality has greatly reduced in modern society. Overall, we as a society have become more adept at dealing with the ugly sides of our actions, and while we still struggle to fully take responsibility for certain acts, we are again moving into a better direction.

If anything, I think that the “good old days” are occurring now. While crimes still occur and discrimination is still prevalent, our society is heading in a direction where more people are aware of injustices and working to fix them. Society now recognizes people whose voices used to be silenced, whose rights and beliefs used to be impeded. Instead of focusing on the bad events in society or even recounting the “good old days” that were supposedly so much better, we should continue to recognize the good changes that are occurring and continue to move in this direction.