The Devolution of the Species

This appeared in yesterday's New York Times, in a column about Parenting. Readers were asked to send in their examples of what they considered a "tiny victory" as a parent. I was appalled.

Having been alive for 3/4 of a century now, I feel I have earned some valuable perspective on where things have been and where things are today. Of course my observations only run from the date of my birth, 1946, through today; I have no first-hand intelligence on The Crusades or The Roman Empire and other things like that.

Where We've Been: 

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers

"The Godfather" Trilogy

The Moon Landing

The Beatles

A cure for polio

Lifesaving treatment for AIDS

Hip replacements as outpatient surgery

Dental implants

Invention of cell phones

Invention of computers

Legalized abortion

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Heart transplants

Where We Are

J.Lo's Superbowl pornographic halftime show

Binge-watching TV

Justin Bieber

Covid-19 infecting millions worldwide

Suicide rates rising

Facebook and Twitter censorship

Surveillance cameras everywhere

Bad cops reviving racism

Black Lives Matter 

Defacing of public property commonplace and accepted

Rampant obesity in the general population

Pierced nose rings that look like dripping snot

Tattoos defacing the human body

Where We're Headed

Kids having heart attacks in their teens and early 20s

Thought Police

Government edicts banning politically incorrect words

Book burning

The junk heap of history