Obviously one of the great contributing factors to why Americans always yearn for Pax Americana has been the innovative achievements of our society. With innovation comes change. Change is not an effect that human beings adjust well to. We, as creatures of habit, mostly disdain developments that cause us to either reevaluate our viewpoint or alter our habits of comfort.
Since the Industrial Revolution, we have continuously been bombarded by more and more advancements in technology, knowledge, policy, etc which naturally make us think about how nice life was before the advancement.
For example, when we look back on the 1950's (as many people do), life appeared simpler in the basic context of things. Of course if we really looked back at the 50's, we would remember that racism was still violently evident and our war with communism was just beginning among countless other social issues.
Still, when we use the phrase, “the good old days”, we are expressing our belief that things were better in the past when society was less advanced and the problems of the status quo were yet unknown. As our society further advances we will no doubt look back as seniors citizens one day and although the state of affairs in America is volatile, we will find some positive aspect of this era to long for again.
