But a recent survey determining that nearly six out of 10 Americans – and over 70% of Republican-leaning respondents – think the country was better off 50 years ago baffles me.

Despite negative partisanship and constant pessimistic grievance from the populist wings of both parties, this is illogical.

After all, in 1939, Gallup found that nearly two in three Americans thought people were better off in the horse-and-buggy era.

Americans have always longed for the “good old days.” The problem is that most can’t define when or what constitutes those good old days. Most often, it seems to be about five decades earlier than the current day.

[Or sooner. Nostalgia for the 1950s swept the nation in the 1970s, and nostalgia for the 1970s drove fashion and culture in the 1990s (remember “Dazed and Confused” and “That ’70s Show”?). Selective memory and sepia-toned recollections are always in play for anyone who reflects on their youth, and the more so the older you get. In this case, though, the nostalgia seems more focused on values than fashion, and that may have a pretty good basis. — Ed]