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.
Although we are referring to the TV show that Alan Alder managed to get boomer to loath due to being so "PC".