Is society in your opinion better or worse from 30-40 years ago?

[rudder]

Crime has gone down significantly since then and people are in general less bigoted than they were (probably because of all the old people that have died since then). I dunno, I'm having a hard time coming up with what components "society" is built up of. Overall I think it's break even at worst.

EDIT: Oh, but the sue-happy culture since (and starting with?) the 80's and how that has changed American behavior certainly isn't a positive.

certain crimes have gone down while faceless crime like identity theft are skyrocketing.

 

[jhu]

wtf stop trying to be so obnoxious.

我結束供詞。

 

[Madwand1]

Can society be better without ourselves being better? Are you better than you were 30-40 years ago (and if that's too long for you 20? 10)?

I think I'm a bit better, but I think that I'm also worse in some specific ways. The key difference I think, is that I know myself a bit better. Learning that much gives a chance to improve my/yourself, by extention improve society.

 

[clamum]

Did they have Fleshlights 30-40 years ago? I rest my case.

 

[Exterous]

Let's see, back in 1950s one can buy a house for double of US average yearly salary.

Those must've been the days....

What's the average salary now? 35-40k a year?

Say good buy to your American dream.....

You have to put that in perspective. The average house in 1950 was 1/2 the size of the average house today. The average home price in America was $158,000 as of May this year. If the average salary is 40k then you can buy twice as much house for twice as much money as you could in 1950.

Not really sure how that constitutes saying good BYE to the American dream

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

You may think it's a minor point, but your failure to emply proper English grammar in your title indicates one area where our society and our educational system has truly gone south.

I'm not just talking about your failure to delimit the clause "in your opinion" with commas, either. I'm talking about your use of "worse . . . from." It grates on the ears of any reasonably literate English speaker, yet I doubt you even noticed.

"Worse" is a comparative adjective. It takes "than."

Below find a grammatical snippet from the web that outlines this distinction:

He who lives in a glass house shouldn't throw stones at others!

Language is what lesser minds worry about. Those with grand ideas, those ideas that have the true possibility to change everything we have come to know, do not have time to waste on matters so trivial.

Haha, kinda like how those that go to school for years and years to get degrees and a "higher" education end up as nobodys in the grand scheme, but those that drop out go on to change the world?

 

[Craig234]

Better in ways and worse in ways.

Example of better: far more information available about issues. Worse: right-wing growth.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

You have to put that in perspective. The average house in 1950 was 1/2 the size of the average house today. The average home price in America was $158,000 as of May this year. If the average salary is 40k then you can buy twice as much house for twice as much money as you could in 1950.

Not really sure how that constitutes saying good BYE to the American dream

Don't forget, most houses built in 1950 didn't come with an air conditioner either. There are many improvements to houses now that warrant a higher cost.

 

[Arkitech]

You may think it's a minor point, but your failure to emply proper English grammar in your title indicates one area where our society and our educational system has truly gone south.

I'm not just talking about your failure to delimit the clause "in your opinion" with commas, either. I'm talking about your use of "worse . . . from." It grates on the ears of any reasonably literate English speaker, yet I doubt you even noticed.

"Worse" is a comparative adjective. It takes "than."

Below find a grammatical snippet from the web that outlines this distinction:

The constructive criticism is accepted.

 

[clamum]

Better in ways and worse in ways.

Example of better: far more information available about issues. Worse: left-wing growth.

Fixed. He-yuck he-yuck he-yuck.

 

[Svnla]

A big yes for the last 25 years.

Now, IMO people are more rude, louder, and more oboxious. We as a nation want quick easy fixes instead of hard work for a long period of time to solve our problems.

Back then, no shooting in school by students killing students. Now students are dumber (not all of course, thanks goodness). I bet any HS students would know who Kim K is sleeping with but most (not all) have no idea why the gasoline price was up and down for the last few months (just one of the many examples).

Language is your most basic tool. Take pride in that, too.

Agree. Do you or any English grammar experts recommend any books or websites or anything to improve grammar/language skills?

 

[ChopperDave]

How old is SixOne?

 

[feralkid]

Your average person today lives better than a king did in the 19th century.

NSIS.

 

[uclabachelor]

The American dream still exists today, but the only difference now from 40 years ago is that you have to be asleep to live it.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Better in ways and worse in ways.

Example of better: far more information available about issues. Worse: Growth of left-wing sycophants in internet forums

FTFY

 

[dank69]

Much, much better now. I don't think I could handle life without Bieber on the radio.

 

[alkemyst]

I think the people of society have gotten much much worse. I never really saw too much broken glass growing up except at one racquet ball court depsite not having plastic bottles then.

Sure parent's will go to jail for leaving kids in a car today, but that is because people will do shitty things to them. Back in the early to mid 70's people hurting kids was rare. Adam Walsh became a game changer.

Theft was lesser, violence less common, etc.

Today's people are enamored to seen as thugs and hoes. Back 30-40 years ago people were shunned like that. Desperate Housewives and the like would have been trash even though many still practiced free-love.

 

[Modelworks]

Respect for others is something that seems to be about gone. Sure kids acted up in the past, they bullied kids, they got drunk and did drugs, but now you are seeing youth that have no respect for anyone but themselves. Look at the bus monitor thing from last week, kids never would have considered doing something like that when I was a kid, my mom would have punished me then dad would have again when he got home. I didn't respect elders because of fear of punishment though, I was taught that the respect they deserved was not out of fear, but that if I could put my childish behavior to one side for a few minutes, that elders might actually have important things to say I could learn from.

I don't have the feeling of community I once had even 10 years ago. I used to be proud of the USA, felt that if I had a problem or hard times others would help, that everyone was working towards common goals, I don't feel that now, it has been replaced by becoming defensive to keep everyone from taking what I already have, the group feeling has been replaced by every man for himself.

 

[dwell]

Nails it

 

[Matthiasa]

I think the people of society have gotten much much worse. I never really saw too much broken glass growing up except at one racquet ball court depsite not having plastic bottles then.

Sure parent's will go to jail for leaving kids in a car today, but that is because people will do shitty things to them. Back in the early to mid 70's people hurting kids was rare. Adam Walsh became a game changer.

Theft was lesser, violence less common, etc.

Today's people are enamored to seen as thugs and hoes. Back 30-40 years ago people were shunned like that. Desperate Housewives and the like would have been trash even though many still practiced free-love.

How you do you explain basically all crime rates being lower now?

People simply weren't bombarded with it in the news as much.
Lack of reporting does not mean a lack of it occurring.

 

[zinfamous]

Better overall.

absolutely

 

[zinfamous]

Agree. Do you or any English grammar experts recommend any books or websites or anything to improve grammar/language skills?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnegans_Wake

 

[zinfamous]

Haha, kinda like how those that go to school for years and years to get degrees and a "higher" education end up as nobodys in the grand scheme, but those that drop out go on to change the world?

....so, about 2 or 4 dropouts have done that in the modern era (granted, these were kids who dropped out of Harvard and other elite universities).

Hardly a strong case.

 

[alkemyst]

I am thinking most above don't even have 30 years of past experience under their belt to know any better.

 

[Matthiasa]

And I suspect most that do were so young at the time that all was judged through the rose-colored glasses of youth.

The attack of age is of one who does not have the knowledge to defend their position.

Numbers don't lie, one's mind does.