That was a good, concise summary of the past 100 years.
Compared to my grandparents' generation, I think society has progressed a great deal. My grandparents were racist, although they weren't hateful or malicious about it. They just had some rather stereotypical, ignorant ideas, but they still tried to be nice. My parents' generation was probably more progressive in this area, as they came of age after WW2 when racism and nationalism were more directly challenged.
By the time I was born (early 1960s), the Civil Rights movement was in full swing, and massive changes were taking place all across society. All of the old ideas were falling into disrepute, and it appeared as if society was heading in a new direction where we could look forward to a better and brighter future for all. Some of these hopes were somewhat tempered and dampened by the Vietnam War, the prospects of nuclear war, and a general feeling of unease and cynicism about the "establishment."
A lot of changes did occur, but similar to the Postbellum era, there was some level of pushback and a lack of follow-through. One thing about progressivism is that it takes continual work and effort, but by the 1970s, few people wanted to do that anymore. Especially since there had been measurable progress in civil rights, as well as the end of the Vietnam War and the fall of Nixon.
It seems that 70s started off with a great deal of tumult, but then, there seemed to be this feeling of "Well, we've done our job, and we were successful; now it's time to party!" The era of widespread protest and political activism was pretty much over by the time I reached my teen years, when Carter was president.
Even my grandparents and many conservatives I knew at the time were accepting of the changes in society in terms of racial equality, gender equality - or at least, they didn't see any point in actively fighting against it. However, they also ostensibly had this expectation that the oppressed classes would now be satisfied, content, and peaceable. My grandfather and other members of my family would say things like "Well, they have their civil rights now, so they should be happy. What are they still complaining about?"
Concurrent with this general timeframe was a sharp rise in the crime rate, economic malaise, teenage angst (which I can attest to personally), and an even greater sense of cynicism and downright pessimism. Ideas which are now generally debunked as conspiracy theories were considered "common knowledge" back then. There was also a great deal of fear - fear of crime, fear of pollution, fear of nuclear war, fear of overpopulation, fear that the world is going to run out of oil or other vital resources.
Even the idea of massive political movements seemed untenable because no one was really into that anymore, not like during the 60s. By the late 70s, people were more into hedonism, escapism, and fantasy - because reality was just too much of a bummer. I think that's part of what led America more towards the right and into the era of Reagan, who had an apparent army of robotic followers and their own brand of escapist fantasy: "It's morning in America. Death to the Evil Empire and the godless Communists!"
Racism was always there all along, yet it seemed to take on different forms. There weren't that many public displays of Klansmen or Nazis in brown shirts - as they seemed few and far between. (Even David Duke put on a suit and tie and called himself a "conservative.") Anyone who made any racist statements were publicly lambasted and skewered in the media, which gave people the impression that racism was all but ended. Political Correctness also came about during the Reagan era, which I would compare to putting lipstick on a pig. The whole thing seemed a contrivance to create the illusion of politeness and civility; a false public image to hide something more ugly and odious behind the scenes.
But this was also an era fueled by cocaine, unrestrained consumerism, unapologetic greed, and an overall sense of nihilistic hedonism which made the 60s and 70s look like choir practice. There may have still been a latent sense of unease and fear of the future, but it was overshadowed by the idea of "living for today" and "who cares what happens tomorrow?" One of the popular songs of the 80s was "Don't Worry, Be Happy." That song was co-opted by the Reagan-Bush team and became the predominant theme of American conservatism, which even attracted a large number of crossover Democrats.
The intellectualism of the 60s had given way to more vacuous, superficial attitudes.
Our economy was sluggish, even while the Reaganites were crowing about how things were idyllic. People became enamored with the "lifestyles of the rich and famous" and somehow forgot about all those still languishing in poverty. They also didn't notice that our once-great industrial machine was turning into a rust belt, characterized by factories being shuttered and reopened overseas for its cheap labor.
When the Cold War ended, people were expecting some sort of "peace dividend" which never really materialized in earnest. Sure, there's been a lot of talk of peace and cooperation and a "new world order." I remember a popular bumper sticker of the time was "visualize world peace," as if "visualizing" was all we had to do.
That goes back to my earlier point about progressivism requiring continuous work and effort, yet few people really wanted to do the work.
People were more content to wrap themselves up in their own little escapist consumerist bubbles. This was also true for a large number of suburban, middle to upper class liberals - who still may have believed many of the same high-minded ideals of the 60s, but had become chained to a materialistic, consumerist, luxury lifestyle which compelled them to compromise their principles. But as long as they take their meds and remain cocooned in their bubble, they've been largely content and pacified.
If there is a rise in racism and nationalism as of late, it could be because people who should have been minding the store have gotten too complacent and politically lazy - not to mention too wrapped up in their narcissistic luxuries to really care that much about their fellow human being. Even when they say all the things that might seem right to liberals and progressives, their words ring hollow and mechanical - as if they don't really believe it anymore.
What we're seeing today is the culmination of a number of great mistakes and wrong-headed choices we made, as a country. A lot of things that we knew about and could have addressed 50 years ago have been put on the back burner for too long. We should have done more and worked harder to achieve the cooperative, harmonious, and peaceful world that many of us long for. Instead, we just got lost.
