--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In every age 'the good old days' were a…" description: "\"In every age 'the good old days' were a myth. No one ever thought they were good at the time. For every age has consisted of crises that seemed intoler..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/brooks-atkinson-15117_age_in-every-age-the-good-old-days-were-a-my_1358772.jpg" --- # In every age 'the good old days' were a myth. No one ever… ![“In every age 'the good old days' were a myth. No one ever thought they were good at the time. For every age has consisted of crises that seemed intolerable to the people who lived through them.” quote by Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/brooks-atkinson-15117_age_in-every-age-the-good-old-days-were-a-my_1358772.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/brooks-atkinson-15117_age_in-every-age-the-good-old-days-were-a-my_1358772.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/brooks-atkinson-15117_age_in-every-age-the-good-old-days-were-a-my_1358772.jpg) > “In every age 'the good old days' were a myth. No one ever thought they were good at the time. For every age has consisted of crises that seemed intolerable to the people who lived through them.” [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People idealize the past while overlooking the crises of their own era, making nostalgia a false narrative. **In simple terms:** Nostalgia distorts reality. Key Takeaway Question present challenges instead of idealizing past. Themes nostalgia history perception Mood reflective critical Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - policy analysis - media criticism Key Concepts historical revisionism cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How does nostalgia affect decision making? - What crises are we overlooking today? A Different Perspective Nostalgia can ignore current problems and hinder progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Age Consisted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age-consisted-4643567/) [Age Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age-good-410929/) [Good Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-old/) [Good old days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-old-days/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Old days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-days/) [People Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-lived/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [When people talk about the good old days, I say to people, 'It's not the days that are old, it's you that's old.' I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-lagerfeld/when-people-talk-about-the-good-old-days-i-say-to-people-it-s-not-the/) [Karl Lagerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-lagerfeld/) > [In 50 years, I don't think you're gonna look back at 2006 and say, 'The good old days.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-flowers/in-50-years-i-don-t-think-you-re-gonna-look-back-at-2006-and-say-the/) [Brandon Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-flowers/) > [“What happened to the good old days when rich white men just bought their way into office?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-crusie/what-happened-to-the-good-old-days-when-rich-white-men-just-bought/) [Jennifer Crusie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-crusie/) > [“The majestic architecture, the cultivated manners, the simplicity of life, the disregard for one's fellow man, the plagues, the rampant corruption, the unmitigated racism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-elliott/the-majestic-architecture-the-cultivated-manners-the-simplicity-of/) [Chris Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-elliott/) > [I don't like conservatives. They always talk about the good old days. I'm black, we have no good old days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alonzo-bodden/i-don-t-like-conservatives-they-always-talk-about-the-good-old-days-i/) [Alonzo Bodden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alonzo-bodden/) > [Whatever happened to the good old days: you know, dirty attics, tuberculosis and general all-round suffering?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-wesker/whatever-happened-to-the-good-old-days-you-know-dirty-attics/) [Arnold Wesker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-wesker/) > [We grew up in the good old days before kids had these damn computers and actually played outside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/we-grew-up-in-the-good-old-days-before-kids-had-these-damn-computers/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [“I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-bernard/i-wish-there-was-a-way-to-know-you-re-in-the-good-old-days-before-you/) [Andy Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-bernard/) > [“Not worried about the decor, Brandt. Seriously. Just find us some place where no one you knew from the good old days is going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-lanyon/not-worried-about-the-decor-brandt-seriously-just-find-us-some-place/) [Josh Lanyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-lanyon/) > [I'm not the sort to wallow in nostalgia about the good old days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir-bedi/i-m-not-the-sort-to-wallow-in-nostalgia-about-the-good-old-days/) [Kabir Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir-bedi/) > [“to a surprising conclusion about this moment in our lives. No, it’s not that there are weird freckly spots on the back of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/to-a-surprising-conclusion-about-this-moment-in-our-lives-no-it-s-not/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [The good old days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-good-old-days/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The good old days. I was there. Where was they?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moms-mabley/the-good-old-days-i-was-there-where-was-they/) [Moms Mabley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moms-mabley/) > [Oh, give me back the good old days of fifty years ago,“ has been the cry ever since Adam's fifty-first birthday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/oh-give-me-back-the-good-old-days-of-fifty-years-ago-has-been-the-cry/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you actually left them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-helms/i-wish-there-was-a-way-to-know-you-were-in-the-good-old-days-before/) [Ed Helms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-helms/) ## More by Brooks Atkinson > [It seems not to have been written. It is the quintessence of life. It is the basic truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/it-seems-not-to-have-been-written-it-is-the-quintessence-of-life-it/) [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) > [After each war there is a little less democracy left to save.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/after-each-war-there-is-a-little-less-democracy-left-to-save/) [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) > [Good plays drive bad playgoers crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/good-plays-drive-bad-playgoers-crazy/) [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) > [Poetry is as vital to thinking as knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/poetry-is-as-vital-to-thinking-as-knowledge/) [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) > [After each war there is a little less democracy to save.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/after-each-war-there-is-a-little-less-democracy-to-save/) [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) > [New Yorkers are inclined to assume it will never rain, and certainly not on New Yorkers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/new-yorkers-are-inclined-to-assume-it-will-never-rain-and-certainly/) [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) > [Nothing a man writes can please him as profoundly as something he does with his back, shoulders and hands. For writing is an artificial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/nothing-a-man-writes-can-please-him-as-profoundly-as-something-he/) [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) > [It takes most men five years to recover from a college education, and to learn that poetry is as vital to thinking as knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/it-takes-most-men-five-years-to-recover-from-a-college-education-and/) [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) > [I have no objections to churches so long as they do not interfere with God's work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/i-have-no-objections-to-churches-so-long-as-they-do-not-interfere/) [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) > [There is a good deal of solemn cant about the common interests of capital and labor. As matters stand, their only common interest is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/there-is-a-good-deal-of-solemn-cant-about-the-common-interests-of/) [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) > [The evil that men do lives on the front pages of greedy newspapers, but the good is oft interred apathetically inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/the-evil-that-men-do-lives-on-the-front-pages-of-greedy-newspapers/) [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) > [There should be a dash of the amateur in criticism. For the amateur is a man of enthusiasm who has not settled down and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/there-should-be-a-dash-of-the-amateur-in-criticism-for-the-amateur-is/) [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) > [The most fatal illusion is the settled point of view. Since life is growth and motion, a fixed point of view kills anybody who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/the-most-fatal-illusion-is-the-settled-point-of-view-since-life-is/) [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) > [Materialism is decadent and degenerate only if the spirit of the nation has withered and if individual people are so unimaginative that they wallow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/materialism-is-decadent-and-degenerate-only-if-the-spirit-of-the/) [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) > [People everywhere enjoy believing things that they know are not true. It spares them the ordeal of thinking for themselves and taking responsibility for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/people-everywhere-enjoy-believing-things-that-they-know-are-not-true/) [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) [Explore all 44 Brooks Atkinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In every age 'the good old days' were a myth. No one ever thought they were good at the time. For every age has consisted of crises that seemed intolerable to the people who lived through them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brooks Atkinson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/in-every-age-the-good-old-days-were-a-myth-no-one-ever-thought-they/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/in-every-age-the-good-old-days-were-a-myth-no-one-ever-thought-they/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/brooks-atkinson-15117_age_in-every-age-the-good-old-days-were-a-my_1358772.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/brooks-atkinson-15117_age_in-every-age-the-good-old-days-were-a-my_1358772.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c09/brooks-atkinson-15117_age_in-every-age-the-good-old-days-were-a-my_1358772.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In every age 'the good old days' were a myth. No one ever thought they were good at the time. For every age…” — Brooks Atkinson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Brooks Atkinson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In every age 'the good old...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/in-every-age-the-good-old-days-were-a-myth-no-one-ever-thought-they/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/in-every-age-the-good-old-days-were-a-myth-no-one-ever-thought-they/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```