I was not alive during the '40s, '50s, '60s, or '70s, but based on what I know, and even based on events that did happen during my lifetime, this isn't the worst things have been in America.
They do have a point about one thing, however. The wrong people, in charge of a government with too much power, can turn things into a nightmare. That's why I admonish anyone participating in politics, never give the government a power that you wouldn't want the other side to have.