Do you think times are getting worse?

[Arkitech]

You hear some people say this all the time, but are times really getting worse? Back in historical times when an invading army conquered a city the soldiers would often kill the men, rape the women and at times kill all infant males. Highway bandits back then made today's carjackers look like saints. Most kings and emperors in times past make our worst president appear to be Ghandi.

However on the other hand, we have more people on the planet than ever before. Simple mathmatics would suggest that more people equates to more crimes and other bad stuff happening.

whats your take on it?

 

[BurnItDwn]

Things are getting better in some places and worse in others.

 

[edro]

I'd say it's about even.

 

[dud]

OP, you might want to consider modifying your question into two (2) parts: Are things getting better/worse in general? Are things getting better/worse for you personally?

For me I think things are getting worse in general and (at least perception-wise) worse for me personally.

 

[spaceman]

lets form an atot an hero brigade
ill go 1st!!!!

 

[mmntech]

Statistically speaking, humans have the best wuality of life today tha we've ever had. A low income person living in America right now probably lives better than the middle class did 100 years ago, and better than kings did 1000 years ago.

Each era has its own self contained problems. Really, the 1950s were actually worse off for a lot of people even is they get tinted with nostalgia. Commies, polio, strikes, segregation, fear of nuckear war. Most of are biggest threats today are relatively minor by comparison. People in Europe are actually protesting getting their government freebies cut back. Freebies that didn't even exist when my parents were little. Geeze, how did they survive.

 

[acheron]

Statistically speaking, humans have the best wuality of life today tha we've ever had. A low income person living in America right now probably lives better than the middle class did 100 years ago, and better than kings did 1000 years ago.

Each era has its own self contained problems. Really, the 1950s were actually worse off for a lot of people even is they get tinted with nostalgia. Commies, polio, strikes, segregation, fear of nuckear war. Most of are biggest threats today are relatively minor by comparison. People in Europe are actually protesting getting their government freebies cut back. Freebies that didn't even exist when my parents were little. Geeze, how did they survive.

Don't need to go back anywhere close to 1000 years. Someone at the poverty line in the US in 2010 lives better than, say, King George III. Or really even just 150 years ago.

 

[DesiPower]

what you described as "bad times" still exists in many places on earth. But for the for lucky ones living in civilized 1st world countries, yes, situation is much better

 

[DougK62]

Too broad of a question. What do you want to know specifically?

I certainly don't think that America is on the upswing from the recession, that's for sure.

 

[highland145]

Personally, life is good.

Locally crime is up, especially home invasions. What do the ATOT police say?

 

[TeeJay1952]

It is important in times like these to remember that it has always been times like these.
Paul Harvey

 

[highland145]

Food Stamp Recipients at Record 41.8 Million Americans in July, U.S. Says

Dang.

 

[rcpratt]

Could this possibly be more vague? What are we talking about...1000 years ago? 100 years ago? 10 years ago? Last year? Just for America?

I believe that quality of life is always increasing (not in all aspects, but overall), so I guess I believe times are better. And I've been going through a bit of a transition period in my life the last few years so it's hard to compare, but yeah I believe personally times are better overall for me too.

 

[amdhunter]

It's October. Things will get better and better until the 2nd week of November.

Hell, already the Market is up and gas prices are falling!!!

 

[HumblePie]

Don't need to go back anywhere close to 1000 years. Someone at the poverty line in the US in 2010 lives better than, say, King George III. Or really even just 150 years ago.

Really??!!? Someone making 20K a year has people waiting on them hand and foot? They can eat whatever and whenever they want? They can wear silk, furs, gold, and jewels? They can go horseback riding whenver, go on hunts and social outtings with their peers? They can command armies, and order people put to death that they don't like?

Where the fuck does this notion keep coming from that the poor today are better off than than the kings of old?

The quality of a few things, like medical care, is about the only the the poor have access to that the nobility of the past did not have. Beyond that, this is a utter bullshit response.

 

[nanette1985]

We have more people on the planet than ever before. Simple mathmatics would suggest that more people equates to more crimes and other bad stuff happening.

Those same simple mathematics would suggest that more people also equates to more kindness and good things happening.

 

[KeithP]

...whats your take on it?

"Do you think times are getting worse?" seems like a pointless question without stating a specific time period that you want to compare to the present.

-KeithP

 

[Cyco]

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

 

[highland145]

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Thanks. Styx will be in my head for the rest of the day. Which isn't a bad thing.

 

[Fritzo]

I think we're on a "golden age" right now, but things will get a lot worse in the coming decades. We have a society with an average IQ decreasing with each generation, apathy to problems such as energy and food production, a lack of interest in research, and people are being exposed to "questionable" content on the Internet that a person 20 years ago would never have seen in their lifetime- making us tolerant of moral decay.

I could very well seeing us going the way of the Roman Empire one day, with China taking over the globe.

 

[dmcowen674]

whats your take on it?

U.S. is heading steadily down, other places on the planet are coming up.

So depends where you live, YMMV

 

[BeauJangles]

Statistically speaking, humans have the best wuality of life today tha we've ever had.

Except almost every study shows that, as a whole, we (the western world) are less and less happy.

 

[highland145]

Except almost every study shows that, as a whole, we (the western world) are less and less happy.

More and more spoiled?

 

[meltdown75]

NHL regular season starts tomorrow. life is good. everyone knows this

 

[Fritzo]

More and more spoiled?

Well, I think that a whole generation in the 80's made a ton of money out of useless services and manipulation instead of innovation and invention, leading to artificially high living in the 90's. Now in the 2000's we're back in reality and we're sad that we aren't living the way we were 20-30 years ago.