(5 of 5)
But there have been gains since then, as well as losses. Many women feel "liberated" from what they put up with then, though whether this is a gain in contentment and independence would be hard to measure. Anyone who would dare to argue that, all things considered, right now might indeed be the best time for most Americans will have to survive a barrage of catcalls. If nothing else, this is a disgruntled age. So anyone making the case for today must insist that all the returns are nol yet in, and must assume that some trends will continue favorably and that some prophesied disastrous crisis can be averted. He must also assume that people will come to see their own struggles differently and in retrospect discover that their efforts were more successful and worthwhile than they realized. The case for today as the best of times for most people also rests on the ongoing progress of those minority millions who are gradually finding opportunities, and an acceptance denied their parents in offices, restaurants, universities.
So the final answer to the question does involve large-scale subjectivity. Many people once thought of themselves as living in a country that was generally right, even though their own circumstances could stand improvement, which would come about by their own efforts. Today it is the widespread doubt about the country itself—its political structure, its place in the world, its present drift—that most mocks the "Smile" buttons. The matter with our times is not so much a question of impossibilities but of complexities that can be faced if only public trust and will are restored.
Thomas Griffith