Rockwell's "The Runaway"

In America in the 1950s, things were simpler. Many times people find this time period to be idealistic and better than what we have now. In "The Runaway", there is a boy who appears to be a runaway sitting next to a policeman and chatting him up. This could indicate that that time was much safer, but it could be more of a metaphor towards Rockwell's style. The painting is much better than real life in the sense that everything seems to be alright in it. It seems like a staged photograph; it's too idealistic. Rockwell's "The Runaway" overlooks the fundamental rift that was rising in America throughout the 1950s--an emerging counterculture that was not concerned with how things were in America, but rather, how things are.