I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiments expressed by Since69. It sets my teeth on edge when people on both sides of the political or religious spectrum try to paint a apocalyptic picture of human existence. No matter what the sensationalized media might try to tell you, the world is not in fact getting steadily worse. In fact, all the numbers show that it is getting better every year. The human race worldwide now has the
longest lifespan, the
fewest deaths from infectious disease, the
fewest deaths from warfare or religious persecution, the
lowest infant and childhood mortality rates, the
lowest rates of death and injury from violent crime, the
lowest starvation rates, the
greatest amount of individual freedom, and the
best status of women and minorities of any period of human history . . . ever. Even in the United States, where admittedly our historically incredible heritage of individual liberty has taken a beating in the past century, the other numbers all apply.
This point in human history is the closest thing to a universal utopia humans have ever seen -- but you'll never hear about that in the media. You have to find those numbers on your own.
Humans have always committed acts of unspeakable barbarity against each other. If you want to test how strong your stomach is, pull out the books of I and II Maccabees (they're between your Old and New Testaments in the Bible) and try to subject yourself to some of the most lurid descriptions of savage torture ever penned. I'd recommend not trying it right after eating lunch.
In my original post, I wasn't trying to argue that the human race is getting worse. I was just overwhelmed at suddenly finding so many stories all on the same page at the same time. The human race has been incredibly fucked up since its inception. But the depth to which it is profoundly corrupt sometimes catches even cynical me off guard.