Whether or not the government consists of individuals is really irrelevant. The government, regardless of who happens to there at any point in time, is an entit

Whether or not the government consists of individuals is really irrelevant. The government, regardless of who happens to there at any point in time, is an entity onto itself. Much like a corporation is an entity apart from the people running it. So in one sense the government of today is different than the government of the 50s (different people minding the shop); but in a legal sense it is exactly the same (it's the same shop). So the people minding the shop should are in no way personally responsible, they do have a responsibility for addressing valid grievances (whether or not they were running the shop at the time).