If we can't make sense of the past, how can we reasonably believe we have a chance of making sense of our own lives?
Of course in actuality, we can do neither of these things. The problem is if everyone sincerely believed this, we wouldn't get anything done. This is a big part of why religion continues to be so popular.
History has always been a constant stream, but you're ability to sample it with a certain frequency diminishes as you "look" back into the past. The historical, archaeological/material, and memorial, if you will, records all become less preserved, and your relatively flawless memory of the time you've lived will of course lead you to see the the time you've lived in as happening more quickly.
Disclosure: my background is in archaeology/anthropology.
Sorry for the rant, but this is a meme that I see all the time and really bothers me.
As far as the OP goes, this article is asinine and meaningless. As a "millenial," I honestly don't give a shit about whether I have it worse or better than some X'er; what I do care about is a sane and just world.
We'll continue to fight for that, thank you very much, while the OP continues to feel self-righteous.