Tom Greene: Is the World Going Straight to Hell?

Tom Greene is a 55 year-old executive, husband and father. He’s the author of “Wit and Wisdom” and writes frequently on topics like happiness, family, spirituality and friendship.

America is in a moral free fall. Some would even surmise that the end of this great country is near. But, is it true? Are we truly in a state of moral decline?

First, let’s clarify what we mean by moral decline. People generally think of “morals” as encompassing kindness, honesty, civility, decency, and behaving ethically. Are you with me, so far?

A recent survey by Gallup reports that 54% of Americans feel that the moral condition of the country is poor. That’s a record low for the survey. Further, a record 83% think that we are in a state of rapid moral decline.

It’s not just the United States. A recent Journal of Nature survey of 12 million people that ran between 1949 and 2021 indicates that people in 60 different countries around the world believe that morality is in steep decline.

However, one thing remains globally consistent—regardless of age, people report that morality started its plummet around the time they were born.

More universal than that, it’s not ever their generation that’s to blame. The majority of folks view the moral decline as driven by successive generations. You know, those damn lazy kids smoking all that grass.

But are we really on the slip-and-slide to no-man’s-land, with a future bereft of any morality? Let’s explore this together and see if we can learn something, okay?

Previous generations shake their fist at the sky in anger over the perception of people getting meaner, greedier, and more disrespectful. “What happened to common decency?”

The social fabric of America appears to be unraveling, and we’ve lost faith in many of our institutions.

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One might argue that the distrust of our institutions has been earned. That’s fair. We’ve all lived through church scandals and corporations putting profit over principle. Plus, we’ve all watched the rich and famous in Hollywood lie, cheat, and steal to get their mediocre kids into top-tier schools like Stanford and Yale.

America’s trust in the government has also crashed. Congress sports a 16% approval rating. Much of that—a function of their childish and reprehensible behavior. Both of these bozos (below) are going from the hallowed halls of Congress to the dim halls of prison. From aged Wagyu filet mignon and a 1996 Chateau Lafite Rothschild to bologna sandwiches and toilet wine.

Good riddance.

People are turning away from institutional News sources. A recent Gallup report shows that only 18% of Americans have a high level of confidence in the accuracy of newspaper reporting, and just 12% trust TV news.

CNN, the worldwide leader in news, carries an average of 454,000 viewers throughout the day, while The Joe Rogan Experience podcast has 14.5 million subscribers on Spotify and 19.5 million subscribers on YouTube.

Yes, distrust of our major institutions can leave us with the feeling that it’s all going straight to hell in a handbasket.

Except that it isn’t.

The Journal of Nature survey posits a different theory. A theory that the perception of moral decline is a psychological illusion. A theory that transcends geography, age, and culture.

See, our primary data point for assessing moral decline is based on how people treat each other. For sure, people are less civil today. But, civility isn’t morality.

The problem is that we haven’t just lost faith in our institutions. We’ve lost faith in each other. Today, 71% of Americans are less confident in each other than they were 20 years ago.

Some respondents say that we simply don’t need each other as much as we used to. The technology we use allows us to insulate ourselves from each other. Need a ride to the doctor? Use Uber. Need a cup of sugar? Use Instacart. Need a prescription filled? Use Amazon. We can literally hide away from all of humanity if we choose. That insulation can lead us to rely less on each other and unfairly assume people are less reliable than they once were. They aren’t.

The survey shows that we’ve made enormous progress in becoming better people. 59% of participants reported improved treatment of African Americans, 51% reported improved treatment of people with physical disabilities, and 50% reported improved treatment of gender and sexual minorities. It’s not perfect, but it’s progress.

Can you honestly say that we treated people more fairly in the 1950s and 1960s? For crying out loud, we had separate water fountains and restrooms for whites and blacks until 1964.

People are also boozing it up less frequently. According to another Gallup survey, 39% of US adults say they have not had an alcoholic drink in the past seven days.

I’m not saying that drinking alcohol is immoral. Let’s be honest with each other, though. The dumbest, most immoral stuff you’ve ever done involved a lot of booze, right?

Besides drinking less, people are smoking less. Back in 1954, almost one out of every two Americans smoked lung darts daily.

What’s more immoral than getting on an airplane and trying to give lung cancer to everyone in Coach? Today, only 11% of Americans admit to sucking on a cancer stick in the last week.

Okay, let’s recap what we’ve learned. We’ve definitely lost faith in our institutions and people are much less civil than they used to be. But, if you focus only on the few bad actors, you will often end up thinking that it’s all going to hell in a handbasket.

However, the culprit is more likely your own perception of the moral decay. According to the experts, that perception is probably a psychological illusion.

In summary, we are actually more compassionate, philanthropic, and caring than ever. We treat the marginalized among us with greater respect and dignity. We smoke and drink less than at any other time in history. And, we are a lot more transparent in outing the evildoers in our midst. After all, Senator Menendez and Congressman Santos were both caught, indicted, and convicted. That’s progress, my friends.

Do you disagree with me? Is the world going to hell? I want to hear from you. Please click the button below and tell me what you’re thinking. I read and respond to ALL comments.