There are plenty of things that are better today than when I was a boy. The internet has opened the world for people to learn anything that they might find interesting. People from two continents have contributed to this thread and that wasn't possible before. Many of the things we recall from the "good ol' days" were viewed from the perspective of people [[and especially kids) who were protected from the truth by parents and the government. If the world seemed innocent back then, it's because we looked at it with innocent eyes, not because it was.