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In my own field, I see this accusation frequently from biblical inerrentists, who insist that modern biblical scholars and historians are prejudiced by an intellectual hubris: that we are superior to our ancient counterparts by virtue of the fact that we "know more". I agree that it is shortsighted to discount the wisdom of the past, but such wisdom must always be evaluated in relative terms, and in line with how the world which produced such ancient wisdom functioned.
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That sort of veers close to the ad hominem, don't you think? I'm not even close to a biblical inerrant. I can reiterate my response by saying that liberal progressivism is basically dead, don't you think? 9/11, the 2008 economic collapse and bailout, and the increasing environmental degradation are material signs that this whiz-bang world of technology has some major stumbling blocks.
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Perhaps it is a crutch! I am not so certain about the "similarity" of human experience. I am 37-years-old, and I have a very limited understanding of patriotism. I've never seen a war, and have no first-hand knowledge of any sort of ideological armed conflict. I don't believe that I would be prepared to die for my country in large part because of this. My experience of life on this particular level is considerably different than that of my grandfather's, who believed this to be a FUNDAMENTAL responsibility. This is a change that has occurred inside of less than a century, and within my own culture: how much change affects our experiences spread across hundreds and thousands of years, and tens of thousands of kilometres?
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Do we ask why this change occurs or whether it was good? We've seen the breakdown of the nation-state in a big way the last 50 years and its replacement with the bureaucratic state. Is this a good thing?