Oh Cmon!

"Old days were much better for overall quality of life, freedom from stress and tension,competition,no pollution and more time to spend."???

I think our vision is polluted because we were children with no responsability playing ball all the time, but if you ask your parents or grandparents:

- one of my grandfather had two works in order to feed the family. Working from dawn to sunset all days, and again at home just save some pennies in order to buy shoes for the elder childer (the younger took the ones of the elder when grew) - this is not stress life? (BTW: 8 children - they were 11 but 3 died when babies).
- my other grandfather was sailor and was at sea 11 months of the year just to get enough money to feed the children.
- freedom for stress and competition???? I recomend you one book: "Grapes of Wraith", not my country, but it can be anywhere - you will see how happy people was...
- no pollution??? does anybody remember the time when kitchens or heaters were carbon fueled? Still in Madrid there is a lot of carbon heaters and I can tell you that that fog is not nice.
- time to spend? no absolutely no. Right now people has more time to spend than before.

I think here everybody is thinking in his childhood when they answer the question.

We can reword the phrase:
Was your childhood happier than your actual days?
instead of:
Were old days better that nowadays?

War looking for peace,
is like fornication looking for virginity.