I rarely comment here, but the similarity was so striking that I came back with the express intention to comment on this exact vein. I actually suspect this analogy was the OP's intention all along :)

Also, it is striking how the human nature never changes and the societal mores tend to remain the same; 60 years is not such a long time on that scale, but the buzz, the (less/un-informed) fever and fervour of the general public that Shannon remarked, they all sound eerily familiar.