None of us have lived in any other generation, and we don't know what it would be like. Gates asks "Why do we gloss over positive news stories and fixate on th

None of us have lived in any other generation, and we don't know what it would be like. Gates asks "Why do we gloss over positive news stories and fixate on the negative ones?" I dare you to asks someone on the subway what the DNC scandal was, who Snowden is, why media doesn't report record-breaking protests around the world, what happened at the Dakota pipeline protests, why Americans lack access to affordable healthcare, etc. In my experience, less than 50% of people even know what the DNC scandal is, or who Snowden is. It's not that we're drawn to pessimism. Civil and constitutional rights are on the decline. The world is getting richer, but psychologists know that money doesn't make us happier (in absolute terms). It's easy to say we have the greatest society every, and the leaders of such society would be pleased with such. It's harder to be a skeptic and a critic, but that's how progress is always made.