What's ridiculous is people lauding the "Great" Generation for paying off their houses fast, when they nuked civilians, had 4+ kids, raped & poisoned the environment, put future generations deep in debt etc., all just happening to have the effect of boosting their standard of living. Then saying that it's all okay because there's no absolute right or wrong, which, tellingly, people think only when the damage is done by a large segment of society, and not by, say, a pedophile. We could pay off a house in 4 years too if we did enough damage to others & future generations, and if we weren't cleaning up the messes of past generations. (Not that more damage isn't being done now; the spoils are kept by the wealthy.)
Yes past generations did some wonderful things too. But IMO (opinions are okay here, even if y'all disagree, right?) the first truly Great Generation will be the one that achieves sustainability; i.e. where subsequent generations have the same or better standard of living. If they do it right, a house might still be paid off in short order.