by John Green, American Thinker:

The national mood in the mid-twentieth century was very different from now.

• The United States was respected around the world — even if not necessarily liked.
• Technology was advancing faster than at any time in human history.
• Our cities were mostly orderly, safe, and clean.
• We believed there were few hardships which couldn’t be overcome with hard work. Opportunities seemed endless, as was our optimism.
• We were completely naïve about the danger posed by our own government.

Not everything was sunny. We had problems that needed attention. That is the nature of human existence after all. But when Ronald Reagan said, “Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem,” we just thought he was promoting self-reliance and highlighting government inefficiency. As I said, we were naïve.