And it's a welcome reminder.
The overton window has been shifting decidedly to the right since Reagan. Conservatives today have essentially all the power in this country outside of a few states, largely due to bombastic right-wing media like Fox, Rush, Sinclair, and now Breitbart. If other mainstream outlets are shifting left it is to broaden their market share in response to competition.
The country is now realizing that some bad things resulted from that and the majority of the population in this country are moderate-left, so the window seems to be moving leftward again. I imagine it will continue bouncing back and forth over the course of decades. The citizens of the US all want to maximize power/freedom for themselves. Sometimes liberal policies are the way to do that and sometimes conservative policies are the way to do that.
The point is at the time it seemed completely normal. Sometimes when you get away long enough to clear your mind, you get to see the reality of the social hysteria that you had been consumed by. I experienced this a second time after not watching the news for a few years. Silicon valley, Hollywood, MSM, the 'left' in general, has gone so far bonkers their behavior is virtually comedic at this point. If you get a chance, turn off the news, the movies, twitter, facebook etc, and leave your bubble for a year or two. You'll be amazed at the clarity and freedom of thought that you will discover.