means and extremes

Fifty years ago, school was considerably easier. Kids stayed kids much longer. Divorces were much more rare (rarer?). Serious relationships and the activities they involve didn't start taking place until late high school. Kids in school were more conforming, more geeky, more bullying, more stuck up. Music was cleaner (literally). Everything was simpler. Fast forward. AIDS, HIV, and a cornacopia of cancers enet the picture, along with computers, Ipods, and the internet. Kids pay more attention to the ways of adults. Wars and public fightings spring up. Parents divorce like it's nothing. Kids accept everyone for who they are, eventually everyone has a little bit of everyone in them. Music gets dirtier, more provacative, more violent, louder. When was life better? When did living really matter? Then or now?