But as people today look about them, they see that the world is not getting better and better. It is getting worse and worse. Poverty is swallowing up new millions every year. Economic insecurity is creeping even into the middle classes. And violence fills the earth.
Every day brings news of more bloodshed from war, terrorism, social unrest, or sick crime.
Besides the disasters that man is inflicting upon himself, every kind of natural disaster besets the world. Starvation is stalking through many lands. Floods, storms, fires, and earthquakes are becoming more frequent and severe. Summer brings extreme heat and winter brings extreme cold. New scourges like AIDS are emerging from nowhere, and scourges long suppressed, like tuberculosis, are reemerging in more virulent forms.