Compared even to recent history, and without exaggeration, we have been living in the most peaceful times at world wide level in recorded history. The only major event to disrupt that tendency was the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The thing is that we have also been able to have increasingly more access to information, so existing conflicts are more public, giving the impression that things are more violent than they used to be.

It was easier to build a narrative in the 60s. We know, in hindsight, it was mostly a false one. Nobody had any easy way of verifying that, though, so it seemed more unified.

The Kennedy's started showing where the breaks in various labor movements and parties where in the Unions that got pissed about their justice reforms. Politics was more about financial work and security and wealth, not so much about justice. It culminated of course, in the assassination of Kennedy and then kept on rolling through other Kennedys.

I think you are right, it was simpler but they still divided us. Now they have many, many more tools and avenues to reach us and divide us further. It definitely feels like we are more divided. Like you say maybe way back people just accepted what they were told. But now, there are so many distractions and pysops people seemed to think less critically. So many avenues/outlets telling people what and how to think. It's like we've outsourced our thought process and can't be bothered thinking for ourselves anymore.

The internet should make it easier to break down narratives and misinformation, but there's a bit of a "deconstruction effect" imo... Now there's an infinite amount of misinformation, and it gives people a reason to distrust everything that doesn't fit into their worldview.

There's always been division and misinformation, the internet is exacerbating it at this point in history.

Social media does bring info to everyone almost instantly but it can divide us as well