More of the Good, Less of the Bad

My mother Valerie visited us last week, and showed me a column by David Brooks from the NY Times. Apparently there has been a huge increase in virtue in America.

According to Brooks, family violence in all forms is way, way down. Violent crime overall is down by 55% since 1993, and violence by teens is down 71%, according to the Justice dept. Drunk driving fatalities have declined by 38% (this has to be related to airbags, though), even though we’re driving 81% more. Even our consumption of hard liquor is down, by over 30 percent. Teen pregnancy has also declined, more than 28%, also down are teenage births.

Brooks says we’re in the midst of a moral revival, despite our media which prefers to play up the negative. Nice to read it, even though it feels made up.