It's enough to make any person long for the good old days. Prior to the 1940s people routinely died from simple infections that turned fatal, cured today with simple antibiotics. Until the implementation of immunization programs after the discovery of preventive-medicine cures for such diseases as smallpox and polio, nervous mothers kept their children all but entirely isolated from playmates who showed the least coughs. Only a generation ago, parents who did not have their children immunized were non-existent. Before the implementation of social services and universal health care, many went hungry and simply did not seek treatment for major illnesses, for lack of funds.
People live longer now than ever before.
Our health care, though cast in a bad light as of late by loose handling, is still considered among the best in the world. As a society can be judged by its care of the underprivileged, ours is an empathetic culture that supports those who cannot care for themselves. Environmentalism has become so popular that practically everyone exhibits some form of conservation and pollution awareness. I recall a neighbour thinking nothing of dumping waste oil in their back yard, and years later, seeing the following owner of that property having to dig out and replace the affected soil where the oil remained to prevent any plants from growing there. Now, landfills are capped, covered, and transformed into parks and other resourceful uses.