You might be right, but given that they didn't set out to do this, that they want their children and grandchildren to grow up and lead happy, successful lives,

You might be right, but given that they didn't set out to do this, that they want their children and grandchildren to grow up and lead happy, successful lives, and that they weren't just some generational error where everyone was a selfish bastard but were mostly well-meaning people, how does this attribution help? It doesn't appear that we're learning from their mistakes with our current political climate or policies.