Is it true that the peak of civilization was the 1950s/early 1960s?

In those days the economy was strong, the future was bright, and people were happy. You could get a job without even trying, one that actually paid well (none of that unlivable wage crap).

Every time I look at my 1964 Impala it brings to my head a rush of how things used to be. Sprawling suburbs where I used to ride my Schwinn through and receive smiles and waves as I rolled by seeing all the happy families that once resided there, I see the beautiful architecture of diners, the drive in movies where people socialized and laughed after a hard day at school or work, I see neighbors laughing and having a good time and all the love and happiness we once had. Then when the images fade I see the once beautiful suburbs turn back into decaying ghettos you can't drive through without locking your doors and receiving ugly mugs while driving through, I see the once shining chrome lined diners decaying away, the drive in theaters now barren and abandoned while the hoards of teenagers who would have been there have now formed gangs, and all the paranoid and hateful neighbors who would have been kind in a different era. I look at all we've lost and feel a great creeping sadness knowing it'll never return. We now live in a broken country with a broken economy and a grim future.

A small computer/telephone or a toy like the internet won't change these facts. Medicine may have improved but is it really worth living in such a barren (culturally) world? The future nowadays is so dark anyway, there is more of a chance now than ever that there may not be a tomorrow.