My dad had already been in the navy since 1932 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Lots of war babies were conceived. My dad stayed in until 1957. I was young when he retired.
Looking back it seems to me my friends and schoolmates growing up were children of WW 2 veterans. Many of my teachers were WW 2 veterans. So the ethic we in that generation were ingrained with was one forged by men and women who went to war to fight tyranny.
That ethic is diametrically opposed and is the the antithesis of everything liberals consider virtuous. EVERYTHING. That is why the vast majority of older people are horrified and saddened by what our society now considers worthy and who they consider to be heroes.
I'm not going to say it was a perfect world but the societal moral standard, unwritten, believed the man was the provider and head of the family. Marriage was for life. Children were taught how to work by their fathers and mothers. Lying, cheating, stealing and disobedience were shameful and brought swift and corporal punishment. Pregnancy meant marriage. Alcoholism and drug addiction weren't diseases but gross moral failures. Toughness and resolve and ambition were honoured. Whining and laziness were forbidden. Sexual promiscuity was shameful. Sissys were pitied. Bullying was generally met with reprisal. Disputes were settled after school. Baseball in the streets on a summer night took place AFTER your plate was clean, homework done and dishes washed, dried and put away. Boys wore pants and girls wore dresses and they didn't look anything alike. Women and children first was a RULE. Men didn't cry. Hard physical work was something to be proud of. Accepting charity was a last resort.
I don't know this society anymore. I really can't identify with or find anything in common except with people who grew up the way I did and they're pretty much all gone.