> They didn't care about ideals any more than modern administrations

They obviously did, just like recent past presidential administrations both D and R did - by at the very least paying lip service to them. There was real value in that, and we took it for granted. The current regime is just as (if not more) performative, but they're signalling vices rather than virtues. Following that example makes for a worse society, regardless of how much we actually live up to the virtues in practice.