In this day and age

That's a term that is used commonly in this day and age :). Perhaps it has been used in any day and age. Often it is used with a sense of dismay. For instance, "I can't believe that in this day and age we don't have a reliable cure for herniated disc!" Sometimes it is used with a sense of contentment as in "I am lucky to live in this day and age when I can contact anyone from practically anywhere via cell phones." Probably folks who lived in Europe during the "Black Death" years or any catastrophic period in World's history would use this term simply as "I can't believe I ended up living in this day and age!" Perhaps not. Most, unfortunately, probably didn't know anything better.

What I find particularly interesting about that term is that it can be applied to anything and everything. Almost always when used with a sense of dismay we are probably being unfair. When someone boasts and demands we should feel lucky to live in this day and age we can always find something that ails us and bemoan that folks in the future might have a cure. And of course when someone complains about this day and age we can always look backwards to a time when things weren't all that great. One is neither lucky nor unlucky to live in a particularly day and age. It is what it is.

All I can say is I can't believe my luck that I live in this day and age! :)