From what I can see life is pretty much the same and opportunities and challenges are about the same as when I got out of high school in the 70's and college in the 80's. All this crying and self pity is self destructive, but hey knock yourself out, I understand how being a victim in a large group is comforting in a sick way. edit: Except girls don't think I'm pretty anymore but I'm sure Obama had nothing to do with that.
When I saw this thread I thought, "yeah, we've got it so rough, " But your reply gets it right: misery loves company. Which is why inequality divides society so.
On the local level there is some truth to this. But surely, you cannot say the national scene has not changed dramatically from the past. A nation that allows it's politicians to start bypassing the constitution, becomes corrupt and we are seeing this (Bush was no saint, either).