@...LukeV1-5: People now are more educated than they’ve ever been. I think your sense of history and nostalgia—seen through the filter of various media—has warped your view. There’ve always been racists, bums, hillbillies, corrupt politicians, stupid teenagers, religious nuts, crazy drunks, desperate poor people, etc. We see them more often now because of t.v. and the internet, but they’ve always been there.

Take for instance The Andy Griffith Show in the 60s. The town drunk, were he real, would not be a loveable Otis, not now and not then. Gomer the town hick would not be endearing, but laughable. America’s never been a country of middle and upper class only citizens. Take a look at Gangs of New York—is America an improvement from that? You bet it is. There’s always been grift and destitution. But, like the way we usually remember our own lives, we filter out the bad more often than the good.