Take for example these points:
"In 1980, deaths per 100,000 U.S. children aged 5 to 14 was 30.6; by 2004, that number fell to 16.8. Some 25 years ago, daily cigarette smoking among 12th graders was about 21%; in 2006 it was about 12% for both males and females. Childhood immunizations are rising steadily."
"In August, the Centers for Disease Control noted that the death rate in 2004 fell by 3.8% in a year, "a record low historical figure." Life expectancy for men and women at birth in 1940 was 63 years; it is now nearly 78 years. We, or someone, must be doing something right."
Clearly something is going right, and that is change moves slowly enough that sometimes we don't realize how good we have it, and that things are indeed getting better.
That's not to say that we don't want to do even better, but it strikes me as a fundamentally American trait that we are never satisfied. This pushes Americans to continually strive to make things better. But let's hope that same desire to improve doesn't tempt us to follow the false prophets of big government nanny-statism. It is a good trait to want to "do something". That doesn't mean we should do anything. It's worth reflecting on how well things are going, even if it is mostly bad news that gets into the headlines.
