Just when were the "good old days" of morality and decency?

The 20th century gave us fascism and communism. The 19th, imperialism and colonialism. War, tyranny, religious fanaticism, bigotry, slavery, conquest and genocide have always been with us. Yes, there has been progress, but the forces of reaction have fought a long and brutal holding action, and they show no signs of letting up any time soon. In my own lifetime, in the freest country in the world, I have seen Jim Crow, segregation and full-fledged government-supported racism. Even the righteous efforts of some political groups to combat discrimination have been bitterly opposed--by large segments of the citizenry.

You can't even blame Capitalism. For all its faults, at least it provides a mechanism, however imperfect, for the common man to participate in his own economic life.

We are a hybrid species, a social animal also programmed for individual ambition and dominance, a band of cowardly monkeys ruled by a boss ape and violence. Yes, there is progress, but it ain't easy, and it moves in fits and starts, with no guarantees of final success.

I'm old enough to remember "the good old days". Take my word for it, they never happened.