> Frame of reference is a big thing that is almost never discussed - one's perception of how "bad" things are can only be informed by what one has already exper

> Frame of reference is a big thing that is almost never discussed - one's perception of how "bad" things are can only be informed by what one has already experienced, and otherwise influenced by the media that is plopped in front of us (in a kind of feedback loop). Your "bad" is not the same as my "bad" and that is true for everyone. This can work both ways. As the past is increasingly forgotten, the conditions of the present are more and more normalized. For instance, how many people actually remember what airline flights were like before the TSA? There are fewer of them every year.