A lot of boomer behavior and beliefs make sense when you realize this. A lot of them were raised by whatever garbage was on TV due to neglectful parents.
Do yourself a favor and watch an episode of one of these shows some time. MASH, Gilligans Island, the Andy Griffith Show, etc. Pure escapism. Simple black and white moralistic protestsnt values.
Now realize that when boomers reminisce about a time when “townspeople knew the local cop” that this never existed. They are literally just going off what they seen on the andy griffith show as a kid during their formative years.
Gen X shows were less often black & white moralistic shows once we got out of the 80s. Yeah, they still existed for sure (and still do), but things started to pick up more grey morality. Antiheros were inescapable in the 90s, and sometimes you’d even see tragic or relatable villains. Seinfeld never had an aesop – they were just kinda asshole protags. Frasier was quite often wrong. Batman had you rooting for Mr. Freeze.
And beyond that there was just a shitton of shows that didnt engage with moral questions at all, or that settled on moral apathy