Remember how great the world was when you were growing up and how crappy it is now. I've got bad news for you. It was just as crappy then, in its own way. The problem is in your memory. It seems our minds are much better at remembering positive aspects of the past than negative ones.

The bias towards remembering positive things, like the Pollyanna phenonemon below, is widespread. The only people for whom this is not the case is those who are suffering depression.

Both of these phenonema point to an "executive function" of the mind whose responsibility is to protect the minds wellbeing by distorting the perception of reality. Don't be too judgemental though, you'd be a lot less happy if it dropped the ball in this area.

Interested in finding out more? W Richard Walker of Winston-Salem State University has a comparative study of research into this phenonemon here.