Sweet Seductive Nostalgia To Help Us Run Away From The Present

Eric Lund

Mar 18, 2022 5:00 PM EDT

When we look at our own childhoods with a critical eye, they weren't really that great. We weren't all that happy, we spent a lot of time being at school or doing homework, and we couldn't drive around or buy beer. A lot of what makes childhood exceptional is the retrospective part; looking back and thinking about when we didn't watch the news or pay taxes. The whole world and all its injustice and agony was still happening around us, but since we were kids, none of it concerned us. We just played N64, rode bikes, and drank Mountain Dew. Also our knees and backs didn't hurt.

Such is the draw of nostalgia. Seeing an old blockbuster VHS or bottle of Fruitopia gives us a little reminder of those tax-free, back-painless days. You don't really know what you have until it's gone.

At least now we can stay out as late as we want. So there's that.

Here are some more powerful images of sensory nostalgia.