I have to take issue with #13.
Yes, technologically, we are so much better off than we used to be. Advances in science, medicine, communications, and a host of other things make this a fantastic time to be alive.
However...morally and spiritually, things are getting worse....MUCH worse. Deviant behaviors are running rampant and increasing. The majority of people are no longer outraged by corruption and malfeasance, governmental or otherwise. People are caught up in a mindset of “Well, that’s okay for you so I won’t say anything”. Only a very few seem to want to stand up for what is morally right anymore.
A certain Book already said this was going to be the case.
Take the popes, kings and other rulers of the medieval era for instance, their lifestyles make today's politicians look like Boy Scouts.
In fact, we are living in a time where the average human has an astonishing amount of freedom, wealth and privilege. There is actually much less deviant and criminal behavior going on. Think about this: The streets of Manhattan are among the safest in the world - try walking the same streets just 50 years ago at night. The only difference is our mass media culture. Some pervert in Tulsa, Oklahoma can make national headlines where in earlier days, nobody ever would have heard of him. Don't let the 157 channels on television make you think the world is going to hell in a hand-basket. If they had cable TV in 1850s America, there would be plenty of horrible stuff to show.
Really? Or is it that people don't choose to remember past decadent behaviors?
Some of this stuff was a major issue in the 1920's and mid 1800's, especially in cities.