I agree, but my criticism was directed at those who write about "the old days" bashing today's society as "empty", "out of touch", "vane", "mindless", "hostile"

I agree, but my criticism was directed at those who write about "the old days" bashing today's society as "empty", "out of touch", "vane", "mindless", "hostile", etc. Victorian and post-1945 were both incredible times and I have devoted so much time reading about them! But they weren't some kind of "golden days" either. My grandmother ate country rats to survive in the 40s, and only on lucky days...