July 27, 2025

The illusion that times that were are better than those that are, has probably pervaded all ages.

Horace Greeley (1811–1872), American editor and politician, The American Conflict (1864–1866), Jay p.161

Isn’t that to be expected? What else can the present be compared to, but the past? Would anyone seriously offer an unknown future in comparison to the present?

Another expression of this illusion is the conviction that, compared to their predecessors, the younger generation is going to hell in a handbasket—one of the earliest versions of that view being attributed to Peter the Hermit (c.1050–1131). Somethings never change!