It is easy in these times to feel overwhelmed by the media’s skewed focus on sensationalized, negative news stories that capture our attention. However, the facts (as studied by historians and other impartial experts) show that we are living overall in the most peaceful, prosperous and progressive era in human history, for people across the planet.
Check out economis Max Roser’s www.ourlworldindata.org (the visual histories on the bottom right are excellent), and also www.humanprogress.org which aggregates data from the World Bank, United Nations. These sites show undisputably that we are in the best place in all of human history, on measures such as human rights, health, education, violence, hunger, poverty, and others.
Why does this happen? A recent Scientific American article titled “Why Gloom Trumps Glad” explains this. Basically, we are hard wired to seek the negative and overlook the positive, as a survival mechanism. With mediation (and skillful media consumption), we can overcome our “dinosaur brains” and live according to facts rather than media manipulation. And…activism is part of why the world has improved.