re: "Is life *really* better now?" Yes.
The more you travel, the more you realize a few things:
Not all governments are as benevolent as America's.
The freedom you expect does not exist anywhere else in the world.
The poor outnumber the rich about 1000:1
Lots of people are completely uneducated.
The uneducated outnumber the educated about 1000:1
It's the responsibility of the free, rich and educated to shape the world intelligently and drive progress.
If the free, rich and educated don't - the world will undo the gains of the past 700 years in a heartbeat.