Is humanity and the world getting better or worse?

I think the world is definitely getting better, we are no longer publicly torturing and/or beheading people, or killing witches or making sacrafices to the Gods. I think things are better than ever and are getting better. I believe war is dying a sad death and we are more free than ever. Not only do we have everything we need, but we have everything we want. If we could just sort out the rest of the world we would be in heaven.

A bit of both. People are becoming more affluent, even people in what were Third World countries. On the downside world population is too high and is increasing too fast and our destruction of the natural world is simply disastrous. It will I am afraid all end in tears.

Worse

We just went through a terrible financial crash but instead of making laws that help the people, we are still using the same shady central banking system we were using before and we are passing laws that are protecting the corporation instead of the consumer

I think, on the whole, better, but we still have a long way to go.

Definitely getting better. We are able to support more people on the planet in a higher life style than ever before. People are healthier, and have more access to rights than ever before. We are doing better and better as time goes on. The fears of doom-sayers are way overrated.

in public places, people are still rude and have no common sense. all sense of privacy has gone out the window and at times, those who are selfish ruin it for everybody else.

There’s definite progress going on, like @wundayatta says. But a lot is the same. People are still humanly selfish, rude, etc. It’s just that nowadays, we have a lot of ways to hear about things happening and ways to “connect” with people. There are more ways for people to be stupid. Sometimes I get the feeling that the world is going to the dogs. Sometimes I have a bit more faith in humanity (finding Fluther after being absolutely fed up with the stupidness of Y!A was one of those times!).

Worse, but there’s always hope.

I remember way back in grade school we used to have nuclear attack drills. What a joke that was; basically hit the floor, get under the desk, and kiss the arse goodbye.

Nowadays there isn’t talk about that, but the threat is just as real. We’re overextended in two undeclared or declared wars (either way we’re there), the Southern border is a mess with the drug cartels (and another issue, but i digress), and somehow around the first of December(?) an undeclared missile, i mean rocket propelled weather balloon, flew up out of the ocean by California and into the nether region, giving whoever it belonged to decent comparison data.

Also, the original cease fire between North and South Korea hangs by a uranium atom, part of the world’s population wants us all beheaded no matter how much we attempt appeasement, and the Feds spit out money nonstop for awhile, approved the stimulus, and approved bailouts, of which were all good for those on the receiving end. For the long term, these combined items cost working folks 401k’s about 30% on the dollar of what didn’t drop with the markets because of the bursting bubbles, the bad paper loans.

An example that involves hidden dollar devaluation on retail products is that I still pay about the same price as about two years ago for a Snickers bar, except that the Snickers bar has grown proportionally smaller in size. As an afterthought, I chew it slower.. :)

Finally, there is always the potential of being snuffed out by an asteroid.

But on the bright side though, December 12, 2012, is just over the horizon, hopefully at 12:21:12pm… :)

Carl Sagan said it best

“As the ancient mythmakers knew
We’re children equally of the earth and the sky
In our tenure on this planet, we’ve accumulated
Dangerous evolutionary baggage
but we’ve also acquired compassion for others,
Love for our children,
And a great soaring passionate intelligence
The clear tools for our continued survival”

So to me it seems as it is getting worse right at this very moment, but in the grand scheme of things it is definitely getting better. While alot may suffer, eventually we will come to a new wave of reason that will propel us to the next level. Sometimes it takes tragedy to make us better. We have the tools!

enlightenment is still the goal, and it is contagious so don t give up!!!

I think it is important to keep this in perspective. 30% of the planet have basic necessities & +
70% still live in absolute poverty

it’s a big old world and the wealth is not evenly distributed.

Maybe a bit worse. We’re pretty bad already, but it could be worse.

Worse. Greed is a powerful force.

Better in some ways but worse in others. The population explosion is going to cause major trauma and stress to the world and people’s standards of living in the near future. Sex is too much out in the open today. Respect for adults and authority is very low.

On the plus side minorities have civil rights, women have more rights and people are more open minded. Medical and technical advancements are a plus (though I believe we’ve become much too dependent on computers).

It’s a mixed bag, as best I can tell. Some things are improving, but some things are only getting worse.

Anytime someone asks me this question, I compare the modern era to the peak of the Hundred Years War.

We’ve got it pretty damn good these days, comparatively.

@earthduzt I love that Carl Sagan quote (no wonder he’s my most favorite ‘idol’, so to speak), and also love what you said. very true. thx.

“The matrix is a system ‘one’, that system is our enemy. when you look around the world what do you see biz man, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. the very minds of the people we are trying to free, until we do that these people are part of the system and that makes them our enemy. understand neo that must of these people are not ready to be unplug from the system they are hopeless dependent on the system and will fight to defend it.” forgot about huminty and the world as it’s now. focus on the solutions to the system your in. then you might see the world in different lenses. work to better yourself then humanity will take care it’s self.

“As you think so should you be”

We’re getting better… at being worse…

Ha!

But in all seriousness, if you even have to ask this kind of question, regardless of whether we are doing better or worse, wouldn’t the better question be: why can’t we go even further in our efforts?

Better. In the past more people were suffering, but there were fewer news reports about it.