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Progress

40 Ways Things Are Getting Better

"What has gotten materially better in America in, say, the last twenty years?" So! Much!

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 8.31.2021 11:45 AM

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westendrf570021 | gemma ferrando & jeremie roman Westend61/Newscom
(gemma ferrando & jeremie roman Westend61/Newscom)

"What has gotten materially better in America in, say, the last twenty years?" David Walsh, a University of Virginia postdoctoral fellow, casually asked on Twitter yesterday.

Hundreds of responses poured in, citing everything from consumer goods to medical treatments to cultural attitudes, laws, and Brussels sprouts.

The overwhelming number of responses and their variety provides a nice reminder that a lot of stuff really has been getting better over the past few decades and American society isn't really the perpetual motion fail machine many people make it out to be. In the interest of celebrating progress, here's a sampling (in no particular order) of those responses…

What's Gotten Better in the Past 20 Years?

1. Home entertainment

switch your TV to low resolution mode once and see what type of poverty we used to live in https://t.co/CyPHEnp5rw

— Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) August 30, 2021

In 2001 if you missed an episode of your favorite tv show you used to have to just, like, hope that a tv network would put it on tv again one day. https://t.co/TsB9LPg3HU

— Mike L. Goodman (@TheM_L_G) August 30, 2021

https://twitter.com/AryehCW/status/1432400754208350208

The Big Bang theory is no longer on the air for starters https://t.co/TyD38YM7bm

— david zaslav haters club (@dauntlessdalton) August 31, 2021

2. Crime rates

Violent crime has dropped like a rock. pic.twitter.com/weFrlVIIuG

— Bad Cop / Bad Cop (@jeirvine) August 30, 2021

3. Micromobility options

The quality and cost of electric micromobility have dramatically improved. For the price of a single 2001 Segway, you can now buy 16 commute-ready e-scooters. We're really just waiting on cities to wake up. https://t.co/TNABguydNo pic.twitter.com/kBsx7ZAnaU

— M. Nolan Gray (@mnolangray) August 31, 2021

4. Better cannabis quality

https://twitter.com/timmarchman/status/1432482849710542850

5. Information access:

Access to information https://t.co/INUjDlzGjS

— Flip (@ebrwn_7) August 30, 2021

https://twitter.com/MVLibertas/status/1432384593286606859

my internet speeds ???? the days of waiting half an hour to buffer a twenty minute video are long gone, may they rest in peace https://t.co/MOlZnxKfBr

— jaybiiird.bsky.social (@AOBaumbach) August 31, 2021

Better accessibility to international media (TV, movies, books, music, comics, everything-Thank you translators!) https://t.co/AXijvukdMg

— Frank Skornia (@FSkornia) August 30, 2021

It might be controversial, but communications technology. Social media has real negative effects, but the ability to instantly read and watch anything you want, or communicate with anyone, is a big deal.

— Peter Sterne (@petersterne) August 30, 2021

6. Acceptance of neurodiversity

https://twitter.com/wraphouse01/status/1432671846097358848

Our diagnostic criteria for, understanding of, and vocabulary around neurodiversity.
Cannabis laws (in some places, anyway).
The visibility and resulting relative safety of gender diverse people (but we've still got a long way to go to on this one). https://t.co/5aZyZ6vxqs

— Manda Cherry @ Norwescon! (@MandaTheGinger) August 31, 2021

7. Restaurant food variety and quality

In the 80s, Chinese takeout and the Italian place were the "ethnic" food options, and considered a bit exotic in much of the country. Coffee was like, Folgers Crystals.

The availability of so much more in the food/bev category - though often unaffordable - is noticeable. https://t.co/nm4nsN7eLe

— edburmila.bsky.social (@edburmila) August 30, 2021

https://twitter.com/nu_handen/status/1432383533817937932

8. Attitudes toward LGBTQ people and their treatment under the law: 

https://twitter.com/MizDanaClaire/status/1432424602135777280

Gay marriage https://t.co/ZYeyz4FXrS

— Ayana Haviv ayanahaviv.bsky.social (@ayanahaviv) August 30, 2021

Trans rights. https://t.co/Fd7ClCNJCE

— Kalany (@kalanyy) August 31, 2021

https://twitter.com/yonatanb/status/1432524274015764482

In the last 15 years the overall openness and tolerance of lgbtq students among their peers has demonstrably improved.

I see kids being openly who they are far more today than when I started.

— Eldritch Millennial (@BmoreBaker42) August 30, 2021

https://twitter.com/Too_Big_To_Fail/status/1432370043153752073

9. Convenience food options

Cold caffeine and on-the-go meal replacement products. You walk into most gas stations and convenience stores and in stock they have protein bars in a Willy Wonky-like variety of flavors & artificially sweetened mostly palatable drinks with enough caffeine to send you to the moon https://t.co/cKs6slhZw9

— Sam Raskin (@samraskinz) August 30, 2021

The only real answer here is "fast food chicken sandwiches" https://t.co/6LzRk4H0xG

— Chrispy (@HowMuchForGoat) August 30, 2021

10. Being an introvert and/or misanthrope:

there's a taco spot in my neighborhood that lets you order over text and pay on venmo so you don't have to talk to anyone when you want tacos https://t.co/IonKm7h0Qx

— julia reinstein ???? (@juliareinstein) August 31, 2021

11. The digital reading experience:

Ebook readers https://t.co/Q1k5ZTR94V

— Chris Scullion (@scully1888) August 30, 2021

12. HIV care:

https://twitter.com/misterscampers/status/1432395854833491973

13. Alcohol options:

Beer. In early 2000s, beer was just awful in New York. Heineken was considered good beer. https://t.co/LXPwk1wb8f

— Onur Özgöde @ummodern@sciences.social (@ummodern) August 31, 2021

Such a good one. When I arrived in DC in 2006, I was pleased if I went to a bar and was able to get…a Yuengling ????

— Central NJ Yimby ???????????????? (@YIMBY_Princeton) August 30, 2021

Wide availability of good craft beer. So much so that I've gotten sick of it and moved on. But every little gas station and convenience store now has decent beer whereas 20 years it would have been all and only Anheuser-Busch.

— Chris Sturr (@ChrisSturr) August 30, 2021

Cocktail bars, the power of modern medicine, dope pizza spots. https://t.co/xlFQFEEQoJ

— Leif Brostrom (@leiftheviking) August 30, 2021

14. Options if you don't want alcohol:

Non-alcoholic beer and VST amp sims for recording guitar. Two things I can no longer do the old fashioned way and almost don't even miss https://t.co/KVyEwh8EiC

— matthew ellis (@matthiasellis) August 30, 2021

15. Mental health treatment: 

ALSO, the number of and social acceptability of medication to treat anxiety and depression. https://t.co/j38e3vxTOH

— Sarah (@sosomanysarahs) August 31, 2021

16. Automobile efficiency and safety:

https://twitter.com/DavidCMaybury/status/1432377932295512076

Access to sustainable, lightweight electric vehicles in cities. https://t.co/lt1Yj0poCj

— Russell Murphy ???????? (@RussMurphNY) August 30, 2021

Cars! https://t.co/NrWUdFRum1 pic.twitter.com/BgDmYi821c

— Ashwin Varma (@varma_ashwin97) August 31, 2021

Cars are so much better that it's ridiculous. Quieter, better handling, safer, faster, less polluting. They're rather more expensive, but even then, the average 2020 Hyundai beats the pants off the average 2000 Hyundai *and* the average 2000 Mercedes

— chatham harrison is heading to greener pastures (@chathamharrison) August 30, 2021

17. Transportation options for people without cars

The ability to transport people or things without owning a car for folks above the poverty line, through tech-enabled, on-demand car rental, grocery, and food delivery services. Huge improvement to quality of life. https://t.co/2tug49ZOs0

— Aarjav (@aarjav) August 30, 2021

18. The ability to get around without getting lost

Aside from the big obvious ones, for me it's getting directions. I am TERRIBLE at directions. Mapquest literally changed my life. https://t.co/HXKBboi6DH

— Kingfisher & Wombat (@UrsulaV) August 31, 2021

The ability to not get lost while driving in an unfamiliar area. No printing directions or asking a local or finding a gas station with a map https://t.co/1AOVIr1d6c

— Brad "Signore Pane" Fuerbringer (@BardLee4) August 30, 2021

19. Specialty diet/food options

Vegan products: availability, variety, and quality. Color printing. Cocktails. https://t.co/SPlgjyZYv9

— Cornflower Blue (Special Low Frequency Edition) (@epicharmus) August 30, 2021

Even in the last 5-10 years vegetarian food options have completely changed and are significantly more popular and accessible and also fake meat tastes way better https://t.co/z9tgPu9ls0

— Shannon Strucci (@plentyofalcoves) August 30, 2021

https://twitter.com/cjd11/status/1432369772323299330

https://twitter.com/gracie_chaos/status/1432413632986435584

20. Being a nerd

https://twitter.com/Ela_Hadrun/status/1432500652802863106

21. Phone calls (or lack of them)

Telephones/no long distance charges, no texting charges, ability to communicate nationally and globally by internet/social media with a portable phone. https://t.co/KlNMKy8OwQ

— Phoenix Rising ????️‍⚧️ they/them (@synphoenix72) August 30, 2021

https://twitter.com/Jesselansner/status/1432374241329045506

22. Getting dressed

there are so many things that have gotten so much better that we don't even notice.

Like, advances in materials sciences have made super soft fabrics dirt cheap and completely ubiquitous. A $9 sweat shirt at Walmart would be nicer than basically anything you can buy in 2001. https://t.co/S7JMhTogBv

— Allan (@AvianDentures) August 30, 2021

23. Cancer treatment

Cancer treatment pic.twitter.com/ETfmPhXKu3

— Bailey Steinworth (@baileys) August 30, 2021

24. Weather reports

Weather forecasting. pic.twitter.com/BTti2zrMW5

— Gwen C. Katz (@gwenckatz) August 30, 2021

25. Bicycling infrastructure 

https://twitter.com/sdho/status/1432408651432607754

Cycling infrastructure, and the proliferation of bike sharing programs in particular is incredible. Safe, affordable, opens up cities in a new way.

— Seb (@Sebastianos15) August 30, 2021

26. Cameras

Camera technology
Cameras on phones
Damn I can't believe I went like 25+ years of my life without a camera phone let alone a good one

— Mel (@Melethonomia) August 31, 2021

27. Avocado access

Access to avocados in places outside of California/Southwest.

— Josephine Robertson (@revjorobertson) August 31, 2021

28. Hygiene products

https://twitter.com/lowinchen/status/1432580251435954178

a weird one, but when I arrived in the US it was difficult to get shower gel: people had bar soap in these little plastic boxes. This was very annoying, esp at e.g. the gym. Anyway, shower gel is now triumphant. https://t.co/pi3Xz0HhJX

— Arthur Spirling (@arthur_spirling) August 30, 2021

29. Video games

video game graphics are pretty good now https://t.co/XDjviwxThA

— brandon.wad (@Thatoneguy64) August 30, 2021

30. Access to fruits and vegetables

https://twitter.com/CtownBnnaPantz/status/1432486801218932737

31. Gambling laws

Gambling on sports legally https://t.co/Bt3OBk44y6

— Rick, Host of Coin Flip Live (@TheRickRosen) August 30, 2021

32. Movie theaters

you guys got those movie theaters with the reclining seats, those are pretty good https://t.co/jasEJ83BGq

— dj mr showmanship (@voellig) August 30, 2021

33. Digital video 

https://twitter.com/masamage/status/1432711754048589845

https://twitter.com/ArguingMeadows/status/1432497354939289603

34. Democratization of the public sphere

Ability for marginalized people to have their voices heard and form communities with others in their situationhttps://t.co/j6N7BiRW51

— Ian (@muddymudskipper) August 30, 2021

35. Clean energy

The price, availability, and efficiency of renewable energy.

— Gregory Brew (@gbrew24) August 30, 2021

36. Access to diverse music

internationalism in music. that k-pop and reggaeton are able to dominate the charts without being labeled fads is a good thing

— David Grossman (@davidgross_man) August 30, 2021

37. Body positivity

this is a cool thread. my earnest contribution: I think a lot about how many young girls are growing up with the existence of the body positivity movement, and how happy — and envious — I am of them for that https://t.co/DJ3xg7dSB2

— Rachel Holliday Smith is mostly posting elsewhere (@rachelholliday) August 30, 2021

38. Smoking rates

Smoking rates are down! https://t.co/1dpoWprpoF

— Kenan Anderson (@KenanAnderson1) August 30, 2021

39. Carbonated beverages

Seltzer https://t.co/cwbFlYM3Ei

— Ashley (@ashweck) August 30, 2021

Alcoholic fizzy water https://t.co/ol8DtdePC3

— Mark O'Neill (@failedvagabond) August 31, 2021

zero calorie coca cola https://t.co/rnUKPZh3HJ

— lifelong las vegas golden knights fan???????????? (@FooleryThomas) August 31, 2021

40. A lot of people's behinds, apparently

https://twitter.com/bergerdbeans/status/1432508023650467843

my ass https://t.co/Hk6BdgAOM3

— punished cailin (@capittalism) August 31, 2021

my ass https://t.co/w9n0WxyKsu

— sladeofyaupon.bsky.social (@sladeofyaupon) August 30, 2021

Answers relating to food, alcohol, marijuana, coffee, computing, and TV—areas no one can deny have improved since the turn of the century—seem to be the most prevalent. And, despite a diverse set of answers both quirky and serious, there's still a whole lot of progress that's gone unmentioned. As a number of people commented, it may be easier to list things that haven't gotten better over the past two decades.

https://twitter.com/jacob_nestle/status/1432375443655643145

???? A lot.

Read more in our progress megathread: https://t.co/rplQ2J8BKR https://t.co/hviEbgiwQ0 pic.twitter.com/akxbIMyhdO

— Human Progress (@HumanProgress) August 31, 2021

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NEXT: America's Longest War Is Over

Elizabeth Nolan Brown is a senior editor at Reason.

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  1. Brandybuck   4 years ago

    There are some I would disagree with, such as acceptance of neurodiversity. That one doesn't exist. Sorry, it doesn't. At least they've stopped trying to drug us into social compliance.

    But overall we are getting better in nearly every way. But that's incredibly controversial. People hate you for mentioning it. The big one is crime. Mention that crime has gone down and people disbelieve and hate you. Seriously hate you. They are so invested in the world being a horrible place.

    1. Rev. Arthur L. Kuckland   4 years ago

      I would also disagree with the subsidies to bikers (biking infrastructure is how ENB phrased it) . That has made a majority of people in those neighborhoods worse off.

      1. Brandybuck   4 years ago

        When I was a kid we had a biking infrastructure. This new infrastructure is for: A) getting rid of cars; and B) allowing bikers to be utter assholes.

        Go to other countries that have actual biking cultures, and they don't resemble what we are trying to do here.

        1. AlanaFlorence   4 years ago

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          Try it, you won't regret it!........ VISIT HERE

    2. The Encogitationer   4 years ago

      Although the question about crime seems to be up in the air from about 2020 onward. That may have made up for all the rest of the drop in crime.

      1. HayleyCraven   4 years ago

        Start working from home! Great job for students, stay-at-home moms or anyone needing an extra income…You can work this job As part time or As A full time job.WDz You only need a computer and a reliable internet connection… Make $90 hourly and up to $12000 a month by following link at the bottom… You can have your first check by the end of this week…Lifetime Opportunity

        This is what I do.................. VISIT HERE

    3. LiborCon   4 years ago

      "They are so invested in the world being a horrible place."

      I talk to people who either weren't even alive 20 years ago or barely toddlers and they all insist the world is worse now than it was back then.

  2. Dillinger   4 years ago

    >>materially better

    spiritually?

    1. Cronut   4 years ago

      Shut up and fill your life with stuff.

      1. Dillinger   4 years ago

        all I buy is baseball cards and is in the air whether they've improved since 1983

        1. Rev. Arthur L. Kuckland   4 years ago

          Are trying to tell us that Pete rose and Carl yestemski are better than Mike trout and shohei ohtani?

          1. Dillinger   4 years ago

            no, but Mike Yastrzemski is my new favorite player. I just like the old cards better.

            1. KillAllRednecks   4 years ago

              “Excuse me, do you have the Carl Yastrzemski baseball card from 1973? When he had big sideburns?”

              “Here ya go Mutton-chop Yaz.”

        2. The Encogitationer   4 years ago

          No Joe Shlabotnik card yet?

    2. Brandybuck   4 years ago

      That's entirely up to you.

    3. Nardz   4 years ago

      You know who else we're materialists...

      1. Nardz   4 years ago

        *were
        were materialists

        Though I guess are would be more correct

        1. Dillinger   4 years ago

          >>materialists

          Levi & Strauss?

        2. The Encogitationer   4 years ago

          A whole lot of people were materialists until The You-Know-Who-Else Party Platform extolled Positive Christianity and pledged to "fight the materialistic spirit within and without" and upheld "The Common Good Over The Individual Good," then followed through with confiscations of private property and free multi-colored patches and train rides.

    4. Fats of Fury   4 years ago

      Really. Most of the stuff mentioned is trivial. In the 20th century people went from horse drawn wagons to space travel in 60 years. Now you can stream a stale tv show whenever you want.

      1. Dillinger   4 years ago

        Buzzr is showing Price is Rights from the early 60s all Saturday morning they're pretty entertaining.

        1. Don't look at me!   4 years ago

          Models were hotter.

          1. Dillinger   4 years ago

            word.

          2. Dillinger   4 years ago

            they couldn't drive the on-set cars for shit though it's no wonder the women-driver jokes are time-tried classics ...

          3. The Encogitationer   4 years ago

            Dick Cavett always had the most gorgeous women celebrities as his guests.

      2. The Encogitationer   4 years ago

        Hey now! There a lot of classic, primo shows from back in the day that are a treat for freedom-lovers and lifelong learners. The Prisoner, Have Gun, Will Travel, Blake's 7, Firefly,, Liberty's Kids, John Sutherland cartoons and Looney Tunes cartoons about freedom and economics, Schoolhouse Rock, and many others. All available 24/7/365 on YouTube or multiple streaming services.

      3. The Encogitationer   4 years ago

        Ponies are still promised by politicians like Bernie Sanders, along with The Mittens and Pie Act of guaranteed foot coverings and pie for all kittens, regardless of the little bastards' ability to keep up with their last sets of mittens.

        On a more serious note, the military still uses horses in limited circumstances, such as when Special Forces or Intel might need to infiltrate terror cells and the infiltrator had to fit in, or when freight has to be hauled off-road in hard-to-reach spots.

        Blacksmiths and buggy-whip makers aren't totally unemployed. They help make movie props, assist re-enactors groups and museums, and manufacture merchandise for the Kinky set.

      4. Fritzi   4 years ago

        True lots of insignificant techie leftist stuff here, ignoring awful schools, porn addictions, screen addictions, obesity, loss of freedoms. Definitely different priorities.

    5. The Encogitationer   4 years ago

      It's like I say to punky kid debates like "Do Gingers have souls?" : "None of you have souls! But you do have a mind, so use it! Now get off my lawn!"

      Then I close the urban apartment window over the blacktop.

  3. eyeroller   4 years ago

    We aren't fighting a war in Afghanistan.

    1. Rev. Arthur L. Kuckland   4 years ago

      We weren't fighting a war in Afghanistan at this time in 2001 eighter

  4. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   4 years ago

    Apparently Twitter as a journalistic source is what has made life much better for some people.

    1. Mother's Lament   4 years ago

      The associated costs of journolisming have shot down significantly thanks to that little marvel.

    2. Stuck in California   4 years ago

      I was going to post "Things that have gotten worse: Journalists who link to twitter posts instead of doing research and citing quality sources" -- but I'll tag on to yours.

      Holy crap is this a pet peeve. And the "access to information" has jumped the shark. It's now way harder to find real information than it was 10 years ago as it's all buried beneath misinformation and advertising.

      1. The Encogitationer   4 years ago

        Don't worry. Plenty of aspiring Data-Lords anx Reality-Czars are happy to clear up all the misinformation for you. Once they fight to the death over who gets to be Data-Lord or Reality Czar, everything will be aaaaaall better.

        1. Mother's Lament   4 years ago

          It's mIsiForMatIOn until some kid checks it against a cheat sheet from the CDC or Wikipedia.

  5. Unicorn Abattoir   4 years ago

    Slow news day?

    1. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   4 years ago

      40. A lot of people's behinds, apparently

      My ass lmaaaaaaoooo

      If this list got any more Buzzfeedesque, I'd think I was at the wrong website.

      Then some of these made me LOL:

      34. Democratization of the public sphere

      Sure, for a while. Then once the establishment saw this happening, they started doing everything they could to stop it.

      And then on the nerd side:

      29. Video games

      That's currently under dispute.

      I could go on.

      1. Brandybuck   4 years ago

        Video games. A lot of people want the 90s era games. So of course anything that doesn't flow directly from the 90s mindset is awful. You can see this with Fallout. Fallout 1 and 2 good. Fallout 3 and 4 the ultimate evils of the world.

        Games HAVE gotten better. The old school mechanics were abandoned because old school mechanics were based in large part on being both turned based and on the lack of memory (or floppies they could force you to insert). So people complain about the lack of hit chances in 3D realtime games where you hit by connecting our sword/bullet with the hitbox of the enemy, NOT by rolling the dice. The complain that cities have gotten smaller, when in older game the large cities were full of static NPCs, whereas modern cities they have schedules and even agency of a sort.

        In short a lot of players want a very large state machine puzzle, not a simulation of a dynamic world.

        And of course they're angry that their once extremely niche hobby has now become mainstream.

        p.s. Are "stories" better? I would posit that game "stories" were never good.

        1. Dillinger   4 years ago

          Ms. Pac-Man.

        2. Rev. Arthur L. Kuckland   4 years ago

          Please the story behind contra was amazing. It so good you don't know what your doing until you beat the last level

          1. Nardz   4 years ago

            Brandybuck is a low IQ moron who lives of a trust fund

            1. Sevo   4 years ago

              You left out TDS-addled

        3. Agammamon   4 years ago

          FO and TES didn't have those things in any real sense past Oblivion.

        4. Squirrelloid   4 years ago

          I would say that the video game problem is one of appearance vs. depth.

          Video game graphics? Indubitably better.

          Video game mechanics? Probably depends on the genre. Civ VI arguably isn't better than Civ IV (2003 i want to say). And Alpha Centauri (2000) is probably still the best 4X game ever made. Sure, it's graphics aren't great, but when was the last 4X game where you actually *felt something* about the factions?

          And it's not just 4X games. For graphical rogue-likes, Diablo 2 (2000) may still be the best one ever produced (it's certainly better than D3). Graphics aren't everything.

          But video game depth? Sacrificed on the altar of pretty. Dwarf Fortress is the ultimate proof by counter-example; it shows just what's wrong with the direction most video games have gone over the last 25 or so years.

          And indeed, there seems to be a general failure to harness the power of procedural generation in a meaningful way by much of the game industry.

          I won't deny graphics have gotten much better, but differences in controls are more of a fad than an improvement. We already had plenty of real time stuff by 1995 (Doom, Diablo), much less 2001.

      2. Gray_Jay   4 years ago

        "29. Video games

        That’s currently under dispute."

        I'd dispute it, or at least call it a tie. Graphics have indisputably gotten better. That's not the point.

        Writing now vs then is a loser on net, IMHO. Fallout, Fallout2, Planescape Torment, Baldur's Gate 1&2, KOTOR, if we bump the time a tad. All written then, and all among the top video games ever made. Interactive novels, really. Yes, there's the occasional Witcher 3 and RDR 1&2. But most new games are padded, glossy eye candy, to hide the fact they're vehicles for an 11 year old to share profanity with a global audience while slowly bleeding their credit card.

        I'm just old, I guess.

        1. Brandybuck   4 years ago

          If you define "writing" as most people define "writing". then the best written Fallouts were Fallout 3 and 4. Writing being the rhetoric and characterization and exposition and all that stuff. Choose-your-own-adventure popup boxes is NOT the essence of good writing.

          Fallout 3 had Moira Brown. Fallout 4 has Nick Valentine. There's absolutely no one in Fallout 1 and 2 (or even NV) that even come close to the awesomeness of writing for Moira Brown and Nick Valentine.

          The idea that the new Fallouts don't have good writing comes from the whiny old farts at No Mutants Allowed, who are still plotting a violent revenge against Bethesda for buying the franchise as a fire sale.

          1. Gray_Jay   4 years ago

            Lol at not mentioning New Vegas at all from you. Fuck, why do I bother?

            Fallout 3 was neat for the FPS port of the universe. It's a far better game with the Tale of Two Wastelands mod. Moira annoyed the living shit out of me. Yay, a wacky quest giver. I'm surprised they didn't ask Carol Kane to voice her.

            The plot didn't make sense before mods helped Bethesda remove the cleat from their dick, and if you can't appreciate the intricacy of the plotting and story of 1-2 versus 3 (and including NV), I can't help you. But yes, there are a lot fewer wacky characters in 1 and 2.

            Horses for courses...

        2. Unicorn Abattoir   4 years ago

          I’m just old, I guess.

          You're not old if you don't mention Zork or Raid on Bungeling Bay.

          1. Dillinger   4 years ago

            we've already done Zork so I won't, but dude I fucking loved Zork.

            1. Brandybuck   4 years ago

              Zork had good writing, agree.

      3. Ron   4 years ago

        34. Democratization of the public sphere

        only as long as your the correct group of people speaking otherwise shut the f up or we will burn you down

    2. diWhite Knightoxide   4 years ago

      I thought for sure Sex Work had to be in the Top 40

  6. Azathoth!!   4 years ago

    How can an entire generation be so dangerously stupid?

    1. SierraLima   4 years ago

      Answer: public education and addiction to consumer electronics

    2. diWhite Knightoxide   4 years ago

      Did you know that all restaurants served 20 years ago was grilled chicken breast on iceberg?
      I wonder how I gained so much weight traveling eating all that grilled chicken and iceberg

  7. Vulgar Madman   4 years ago

    Jesus, if want to make things better, murder Twitter.

  8. OpenBordersLiberal-tarian   4 years ago

    From a Koch / Reason libertarian POV, there are two crucial ways things are getting better.

    1. The pro-open-borders party won a historic landslide victory in the 2020 election.

    2. The richest people on the planet are rapidly getting richer.

    Of course Koch / Reason libertarians have understood for decades that looser borders correlate with skyrocketing billionaire wealth.

    #InDefenseOfBillionaires

    1. Mother's Lament   4 years ago

      Absolutely,

      1. Last year the world's 2500 richest people amassed 1.5 trillion dollars during the pandemic. Never in human history has so much wealth been amassed so quickly. It's a modern miracle.

      2. Last year a record number of small and medium-sized businesses went bankrupt, leaving a space that can now be filled by Walmart and Amazon. Survival of the fittest to be honest. Those little parasites should've anticipated a global governmental shutdown of their non-essential business and prepared accordingly.
      Vital government action created a free market triumph for the mega-corporations. Another miracle.

  9. buckleup   4 years ago

    Most of these are basically how to stimulate yourself.

    I'll give you the cancer treatment one.

    The crime rate is complete bullshit now.

    1. Quo Usque Tandem   4 years ago

      "The crime rate is complete bullshit now."

      Correct, because we cannot be talking about precipitous drops in homicide and other violent crimes while so many non criminals have simultaneously armed up. There is an "epidemic of violence" for which they've had a solution for decades. As follows:

      "Dr. Katherine Christoffel, head of the Handgun Epidemic Lowering Plan, a group that has received CDC support, stated this assumption plainly in a 1994 interview with American Medical News: "Guns are a virus that must be eradicated. They are causing an epidemic of death by gunshot, which should be treated like any epidemic–you get rid of the virus. Get rid of the guns, get rid of the bullets, and you get rid of the deaths." Reason, April 1997

      1. Fats of Fury   4 years ago

        I suspect gun homicides are lower now than in the sixties because of better medical procedures. The only way to tell is by listing the total numbers shot but those statistics are unavailable.

        1. Don't look at me!   4 years ago

          They blame everyone holding their gun sideways.

      2. Kungpowderfinger   4 years ago

        Guns are a virus that must be eradicated. They are causing an epidemic of death by gunshot…

        Since we’ve redefined vaccines to include mRNA therapy, why not redefine guns as a virus?

        The semantic shift in our language, motivated by government, sure the fuck hasn’t improved in the last 20 years.

    2. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   4 years ago

      the chart conveniently stops at 2019.

      1. Mickey Rat   4 years ago

        Yes, the cycle may be on its upward turn.

        1. sarcasmic   4 years ago

          Or there was a temporary blip while people weren't allowed to work.

          1. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   4 years ago

            By "not allowed to work" you're talking about the Police, right?

            1. sarcasmic   4 years ago

              I'm talking about lockdowns and "non-essential" workers of course. Don't be obtuse. The shenanigans of the last two years were not normal, and I'm quite sure that crime rates will be back to pre-2019 levels within a year or two. It's temporary, not a new trend. I hope.

              1. CE   4 years ago

                or a result of "look the other way" non-enforcement of laws against non-violent crime, and district attorneys who drop charges in pursuit of some vague social goal.

                1. sarcasmic   4 years ago

                  And how long is that going to last, realistically?

                  1. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   4 years ago

                    Forever if Angela Davis has her way.

              2. Claptrap   4 years ago

                The shenanigans of the last two years were not normal

                There's a new normal now. Your old rules no longer apply, gramps.

  10. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   4 years ago

    You know, I was watching a professor of clinical psychology speak the other day and he said we don't know what the effects of social media are going to be on the west. For instance, could you ever imagine a world where nothing you did as a teenager could ever be forgotten?

    1. Brandybuck   4 years ago

      I have a friend who was blackballed from his industry, his rising and promising career cut short, because of a drunken rant he made on Facebook. He's genius level but now works as janitor at age 36.

      1. diWhite Knightoxide   4 years ago

        How does he like those apples? It's not his fault, it's not his fault....
        P.S. , no one believes this dumb story. Like you would have any friends

        1. Brandybuck   4 years ago

          It was his fault. Absolutely his fault. I warned him before hand to watch what he posted on Facebook because he was in a socially sensitive profession. But no talking sense into Millennials. As an oldster I wasn't about to make Facebook my private diary, but he and many other Millennials did.

          There are things you can say while drunk in the back of a bar that are not at all wise to post to your public Facebook page.

          p.s. I may not have many friends, but at least I don't have to rent mine like you do.

          1. Don't look at me!   4 years ago

            If he was really smart he wouldn’t really be your friend.

      2. Ersatz   4 years ago

        he should invent his own industry

  11. Mickey Rat   4 years ago

    So better feelies, legalized soma, and the establishment of LGBT ideology as our government's official religion are the best things that have happened in the last twenty years.

    I note that the crime rate graph does not include 2020, so the jury may be out on that.

    And strange that an example of improved entertainment is someone being a dick about a show a lot of people apparently liked.

    1. Diane Reynolds (Paul.)   4 years ago

      The jury's not out on that, crime over the last to years has gone up sharply.

  12. Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf   4 years ago

    In the last 15 years the overall openness and tolerance of lgbtq students among their peers has demonstrably improved.

    Too bad the lgbtqwerty attitude towards others has gotten worse.

    1. Ersatz   4 years ago

      ^THISSSSSS^

    2. Mother's Lament   4 years ago

      I noticed that kind of mentality back in high school. As soon as a fat pimply girl slimmed down and her faced cleared-up, she'd become a hundred times more arrogant and mean than any middle-school bully. That's kind of what the LGBTQWTF's are going through right now.
      And the clerisy is indulging the worst of their behavior.

  13. Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf   4 years ago

    The price, availability, and efficiency of renewable energy.

    First, a lie. My electricity costs 4 times as much as in 2007, entirely due to having expensive renewables in the mix and screwing up the reliables.
    Second, the author should have vetted this kind of crap instead of just copying without reading.

    1. sarcasmic   4 years ago

      If you choose (yes I said choose which you apparently did not) to use renewable energy, it's a lot cheaper and better than it was even twenty years ago.

      1. Rev. Arthur L. Kuckland   4 years ago

        More heavily subsidized does not mean cheaper

        1. Echospinner   4 years ago

          You get a tax credit if you put in solar panels but some of the reason they cost less per kw is they are more efficient now.

          1. Rev. Arthur L. Kuckland   4 years ago

            You can thank the Uighur slaves for your cheep solar panels.

            1. Echospinner   4 years ago

              I am not planning to but if I were going to put them up I would go with one of the American made systems. From what I know they are better quality and better power output.

          2. Cronut   4 years ago

            Even with the subsidies, it's still more expensive and less reliable than conventional sources.

            1. TJJ2000   4 years ago

              ^That's been my extensive experience with it.
              The only place it makes since is in places that have no other options.
              And the Nazi-Regime is trying desperately to make that 'place' everywhere.

              1. Sevo   4 years ago

                And in CA we're getting TV ads extolling our "abundant solar and wind power!"
                So "abundant" the same ad asks you not to run heavy-drain appliances between X and Y.

      2. Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf   4 years ago

        Let me rephrase that for you:

        Ammo prices have come down, and hollowpoints are better than they used to be, so if you choose (yes I said choose which you apparently have not) to play Russian Roulette, it's a lot cheaper and better than it was even twenty years ago.

        1. sarcasmic   4 years ago

          You're seriously comparing putting a wind turbine in a field or solar panels on a roof to putting a loaded gun to your head and squeezing the trigger?

          That's got to be in the dumbest comments I've read in a while.

          1. Rev. Arthur L. Kuckland   4 years ago

            I knew yu never read what you write

          2. Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf   4 years ago

            It's only incomprehensible to alarmunists who think renewable power is actually compatible with power grids.

  14. Roberta   4 years ago

    A lot of the answers were subsets of others.

  15. Union of Concerned Socks   4 years ago

    41. Government protection of individual rights.

    I kid, I kid.

    1. CE   4 years ago

      42. The federal government moving away from Clinton-era austerity to the magic prosperity spigots of deficit spending and Fed money-printing and putting a 1.44 trillion dollar thumb on the interest rate scale every year, making houses simultaneously more affordable and more valuable, and driving the stock market ever higher.

      What could possibly go wrong?

  16. Eeyore   4 years ago

    At least they didn't make us find the moving next button in a wall of ads to go through the list.

  17. Agammamon   4 years ago

    7 is . . . wtf.

    The idea that in the 1980s Chinese and Italian foods were 'ethnic' and 'exotic'. SMDH.

    or that you could only get a 'plaine grilled chicken breast' in 2001.

    Food has gotten better, it wasn't a fucking desert 40 years ago.

    1. buckleup   4 years ago

      ENB is slyly insinuating that the rest of flyover country are rubes without access to Cincinnati chili.

      1. Echospinner   4 years ago

        Gosh I miss that stuff. Can’t get it where I am now.

        1. Dillinger   4 years ago

          Skyline ships. https://www.goldbelly.com/skyline-chili

        2. Nardz   4 years ago

          I just had Cincinnati chili, and I live in Florida.
          They have it at Kroger and Publix.

      2. Fats of Fury   4 years ago

        She's probably insinuating Joe Biden makes everything better.

    2. Echospinner   4 years ago

      Oh you could get almost anything then. You just had to go to where the ethnics were. There is more variety easier to get now it seems.

  18. CE   4 years ago

    I agree in general -- life is much better than it was 20 or 50 or 100 years ago, and getting better all the time. A few nitpicks with the list though:

    2. Crime rates --- depends on where you live, and also what time period you consider. 2000 to 2020 was improving, 2019 to 2021 not so much. Chicago is basically a mid-level war zone if you count casualties. In California property crime is basically legal now, with obvious consequences.

    7. Restaurant quality and variety -- sure, except for the 40% of small businesses that went broke due to the lockouts, and the lost multiple months of availability again due to the lockouts.

    32. Movie theaters -- minus a year or so due to lockdowns.

    34. Democratization of the public sphere -- that's not a good thing, if it means a majority can silence a minority. With the public square moving online in the past 20 years, it started out as a free for all with all viewpoints argued and allowed. Now there's a growing set of opinions (and even facts) that are banned outright or banned via mob cancellation, with an elected President asking opposition voices to be silenced and urging private companies (under threat of antitrust action) to shut down disfavored accounts.

    35. Clean energy -- it's a good thing if we're polluting less. It's not so good if the clean energy grid is significantly less reliable (see Texans freezing to death, California nagging us to use less electricity in the afternoon and early evening, rolling blackouts, and new homes banned from having desirable natural gas appliances.)

    1. Claptrap   4 years ago

      Many of the pieces, and especially the rationales, are extremely silly. It's mostly a list of the SWPL qualitative preferences of your typically gentry liberal that would bother posting on Twitter. I mean, Avocados? We had plenty of those growing up in NJ in the 90's.

      Also, LOL at the guy saying Uber/Lyft is a boon for poor people. I could buy a decent enough beater if I what spent on rides the last time I took my wife out was instead applied to a car payment.

      1. Fats of Fury   4 years ago

        +1

      2. diWhite Knightoxide   4 years ago

        It's a list of Millennial Twat obsessions

    2. mad.casual   4 years ago

      California nagging us to use less electricity in the afternoon and early evening, rolling blackouts, and new homes banned from having desirable natural gas appliances.

      The California wildfires are better than they've ever been.

  19. SierraLima   4 years ago

    - Most of that list is petty conveniences and empty pleasures. Not anything that genuinely makes people happier, improves the human condition or makes society more productive. By most measures people as a whole are unhappier than ever and real standards of living haven't risen in the US in decades. I could make a list a mile long of things that are worse today than decades ago that are 10x more important than your access to avocado toast and how good the graphics are on your XBox.
    - Better cancer treatments is good.
    - So are better weather forecasts, not that it improves quality of life dramatically by any stretch for anybody with the exception of maybe pilots and surfers.
    - As far as crime, crime rates are shooting back up rapidly, so decreased crime might not be the case for long. We'll see after that data for 2020 and 2021 is published.
    - LGBTQ+ABCDEFG acceptance is NOT a good thing. Sorry, but mutilating your genitals, taking hormones and genuinely believing you are the gender you aren't (let alone expecting others to) is a mental disorder and inability to accept objective truth. It should be treated, not accepted. Even gays fail to accept that heterosexual sex has a biological point where gay sex doesn't, so what they are doing is unnatural and should thus understand why many consider it disgusting. They shouldn't be persecuted, but it's acceptance into mainstream society is not a positive.
    - Acceptance of neurodiversity isn't good either. ADHD once upon a time was just called what it is. Which is the person who lacks discipline and focus instead of legitimizing it and put them on a drug regiment. PTSD if you come back from a bloody war is one thing, PTSD acceptance for everything under the sun now is really just acceptance of weak willed cowardice. Development problems used to just be called someone who is stupid, which is reality, many people are genetically dumb. Again, more modern dancing around harsh reality to not hurt people's feelings.
    - Body positivity is not good. Telling people who have an unhealthy lifestyle that will cause medical problems and premature death that it's fine and not a bad thing is just plain stupid. Once upon a better time it was OK to criticize destructive vices.

    1. Rev. Arthur L. Kuckland   4 years ago

      About half of the people alive today are below the median iq

    2. The Encogitationer   4 years ago

      Even gays fail to accept that heterosexual sex has a biological point where gay sex doesn’t, so what they are doing is unnatural and should thus understand why many consider it disgusting. They shouldn’t be persecuted, but it’s acceptance into mainstream society is not a positive.

      Excuse me, but a whole lot of heterosexuals have sex without procreating and solely for pleasure, so is that unnatural and disgusting too? And is unplanned pregnancy and forcing taxpayers to pay the freight for raising children "unnatural" and "disgusting" too?

      And are people supposed to be thankful and grateful for your allowance of not being bullied, harrassed, assaulted, robbed, raped, imprisoned, and murdered when not enduring these should be the default position of a civilized, free society?

      1. SierraLima   4 years ago

        Heterosexual sex with birth control is still giving in to natural desires that serve a biological purpose, just with precautions to not have children until and if desired.
        I'm not one of them, but I can understand why religious fundamentalists frown even upon protected sex outside of marriage. For better or worse, the liberalization of sex and erosion of the institution of the family in the last 70 years has clearly caused massive societal problems, so from a pragmatic point you really can't even judge the religious fundamentalists.
        I'm 100% against taxpayers footing the bill for any and all children including SNAP, TANF and taxpayer funded education. How did you add that into the conversation?
        I never said assaulted, robbed, raped, imprisoned or murdered as all of these are violations of the non aggression principle. Again, how did you bring that into the conversation based on what I said? Strawman much? In fact, I said specifically "They shouldn’t be persecuted, but it’s acceptance into mainstream society is not a positive.".
        Bullied and harassed is extremely subjective and should not be legislated. In fact in this day in age that means pretty much any time "the victim" doesn't like something said to them and complains about it.
        Again, in contemporary America gays and the rest of the LGBTQ+ crowd are the ones doing more of the violations of natural rights between bake the cake type controversies, now being a protected group under the civil rights act (effectively free reign to sue and probably win any time you are denied service or don't get a job for any reason as long as you are one of these groups), etc... Legalities aside, not to mention them being a huge part of the cancel culture mob.
        Hell, my company recently took on diversity hiring initiatives just to appease the modern woke mob, a huge part of which is the LGBTQ+ crowd. Am I supposed to celebrate how far this acceptance has predictably devolved into that my company would rather hire an incompetent biracial tranny as opposed to a competent white male?
        No, these people should not be beaten or jailed. But let's stop pretending that their behavior is not an indication of mental problems, hormonal issues, etc... And let's stop pretending this is something to be proud of and held at the same level in society as time tested heterosexual love, sex, relationships, marriage, etc... And certainly let's stop legislating the right of disassociation away because a group yells loud enough.
        Libertarianism means tolerating the decisions and actions of others unless they directly infringe on your natural rights. It doesn't mean having to like them, respect them, accept them or associate with them. It doesn't mean not judging them or their actions. And it certainly doesn't mean being forced under law to take them on as customers, employees, etc...

        1. The Encogitationer   4 years ago

          Well, it is true that nobody has to like or associate with anybody and "The human mind is a wonderful thing. It can think anything it wants to think."--Robert A. Heinlein.

          But I just gotta say: You sure do spend alot of time, space and energy on things and people you don't like.

          1. SierraLima   4 years ago

            Actually, I spent one paragraph/bullet point in the original post. I only spent a whole long post as a reply to your reply.

        2. NOYB2   4 years ago

          Heterosexual sex with birth control is still giving in to natural desires that serve a biological purpose

          The purpose of sex isn't just procreation. Humans are a social species, and non-procreative heterosexual sex and homosexual sex are biologically important aspects of human social structures (just like in other primates).

          Hell, my company recently took on diversity hiring initiatives just to appease the modern woke mob, a huge part of which is the LGBTQ+ crowd.

          Just because some idiots write "LGBTQ+" on their banner doesn't mean they speak for people.

          Libertarianism means tolerating the decisions and actions of others unless they directly infringe on your natural rights. It doesn’t mean having to like them, respect them, accept them or associate with them.

          I agree. You should be able to freely express your views to anybody who applies to a job with your company without fear of legal repercussions. That way, conservative, competent white males who happen to be gay (like myself) can avoid working with jerks and imbeciles like you.

    3. NOYB2   4 years ago

      LGBTQ+ABCDEFG acceptance is NOT a good thing. Sorry, but mutilating your genitals, taking hormones and genuinely believing you are the gender you aren’t (let alone expecting others to) is a mental disorder and inability to accept objective truth. It should be treated, not accepted.

      You have a "mental disorder" if you think that that letter salad refers to any identifiable group of people.

      Even gays fail to accept that heterosexual sex has a biological point where gay sex doesn’t

      Fact: sex serves many biological purposes in primates, procreation only being one. That's why women keep having sex after menopause and why most heterosexual sex is non-procreative.

      so what they are doing is unnatural and should thus understand why many consider it disgusting.

      You should understand that many gays are gay because we consider heterosexual sex disgusting. We are happy for you that you enjoy it and that you engage in it.

      They shouldn’t be persecuted, but it’s acceptance into mainstream society is not a positive.

      The sexualization of mainstream society is not a positive; that's true of heterosexuality as much as of homosexuality.

  20. buckleup   4 years ago

    Leave it up to the editors to scrape a bunch of twitter accounts for ideas.

    1. Gray_Jay   4 years ago

      I was going to say: An article that's nothing but a hundred Tweets? You're just fucking with us now, right Liz?

      Of course, given Twitter wasn't around 20 years ago, life is better for Ms. Brown now.

    2. sarcasmic   4 years ago

      Nardz is an editor?

  21. Fats of Fury   4 years ago

    Here's a clue why reason is in the bag for Big Tech.
    https://emeralddb3.substack.com/p/how-the-national-review-sold-its

    1. Gray_Jay   4 years ago

      "Snide effeminacy..." LOL

      "Rebuilding the movement out of the ashes" may not be a metaphor if things continue to degenerate. Did the contents of the tape, that Robinson is writing about, ever get fully disseminated?

  22. Gray_Jay   4 years ago

    We do live in an age of miracles. It will be tragic watching it die.

    1. The Encogitationer   4 years ago

      The National Debt and the past 20 years of Mad King Ludwigs trying to outspend each other is what could destroy it all.

  23. mad.casual   4 years ago

    In 2001 if you missed an episode of your favorite tv show you used to have to just, like, hope that a tv network would put it on tv again one day.

    TiVo (/ˈtiːvoʊ/ TEE-voh) is a digital video recorder (DVR) developed and marketed by Xperi (previously by TiVo Corporation and TiVo Inc.) and introduced in 1999.

    I don't care if you want to give yourself brain damage trying to suck your own dick 40 times in a row, but it doesn't make the world a better place, especially when you try and trick other people into watching you do it. Done. Out.

    1. Claptrap   4 years ago

      Shit, Tivo was a verb for quite a while.

    2. Kevin Smith   4 years ago

      I had a programmable VCR in my house since the 1980s. Most primetime shows had a late-night rerun, so if you missed it you just set the VCR to record it at 2am or whenever

      1. mad.casual   4 years ago

        Our first VCR had a hard-wired remote control. I wouldn't suggest a return to that technology but the remote was *much* harder to lose.

        Also, my recollection is that with typically one new episode a week and a 7 mo. season, the vast majority of episodes aired (3X a week, year-round) were reruns, usually with a one season lag.

  24. Karl_L   4 years ago

    I second the point about cancer treatment.
    When I was diagnosed and told they were starting chemo the following week, I was expecting to be dead tired, sick as a dog, hair falling out, and generally miserable. I've never been happier to have my expectations dashed. The drugs they're using are much better than standard chemo at targeting the cancer and leaving along the stuff I want to keep. And more drugs, and drugs that attack cancer by different mechanisms, are coming out every year.
    And immunotherapy seems to have put me into remission, at least temporarily.

    1. The Encogitationer   4 years ago

      Good to hear that. Another good thing about the fight against cancer is that The American Cancer Society thinks plays no favorites on the ribbon campaigns. In other words, #AllCancersMatter. The Woke Mob hasn't poisoned the hard science of Oncology!

  25. Karl_L   4 years ago

    21st Century medicine in general. I have a new heart valve.
    When my cancer was diagnosed, the open-heart option was off the table, so they installed a trans-catheter aortic valve implant, or TAVI. This is basically a large stent with a pig valve fastened in the middle. It's threaded up through the artery to where the bad valve is, and expanded in place, crushing the bad valve out of the way. The pig valve takes over immediately.
    The following evening, they took the tubes and wires out of the artery, having decided I don't need a pacemaker. I was up and walking around the morning after that.
    Because of a slight complication, I was discharged on the seventh day instead of the third or fourth.
    I didn't mind not having the midline incision the open heart option would have entailed.

    1. The Encogitationer   4 years ago

      Southern humorist Lewis Grizzard spoke about his heart operation where he got his Aortic Valve replaced by the valve of a little pig named Jerome. (Awwww!)

      He said he didn't feel any different, except that when a plate of barbecue passed him, his eyes filled with tears. 😉

  26. Commenter_XY   4 years ago

    You know what has not improved in 20 years? Reason

    1. mad.casual   4 years ago

      Reason and reason (*drink*).

      Much of the gay rights advancement was predicated on the destruction of logical thought and objective truth. Bigotted doctors (none of whom were themselves gay, of course) refusing partners access to patients, the equivocation of homosexuality and miscegenation, the flip-flopping between homosexuality as a genetic trait, a character trait, a lifestyle choice, completely normal behavior, social disease, mental disease... none of it mattered as long as homosexuals got special treatment for their conditionchoicerace, but totally not an agenda, genetics.

      1. The Encogitationer   4 years ago

        Sooo...What would you suggest is rational and objective regarding LGBTQ+ persons? And is rhe subject of LGBTQ+ persons the only source of irrationality in Reason Magazine or the world?

        1. mad.casual   4 years ago

          Sooo…What would you suggest is rational and objective regarding LGBTQ+ persons?

          See. Rational thought, problem solving, and even just memory corroded to the point that nobody anywhere proposed any other options to where we are today. Certainly not any more reasonable options consistent with the long-established rules about uncertainty and irrationality under law that existed for the last 200 yrs., if not longer. And absolutely not any options that would've been simpler and more equitable to everyone, but more beneficial to homosexuals as well. Nope, the progressive utopia that we live in now is, was, and will be the only option.

        2. NOYB2   4 years ago

          What would you suggest is rational and objective regarding LGBTQ+ persons?

          You can start by recognizing that there is no such thing as "LGBTQ+ persons"; that letter salad is a creation of politicians and ideologues.

      2. NOYB2   4 years ago

        none of it mattered as long as homosexuals got special treatment for their conditionchoicerace, but totally not an agenda, genetics.

        Most homosexuals just wanted to be left alone by the state and be treated equally under the law. Period.

        Both Republicans and Democrats turned this simple issue into a political football. You can all go to hell.

    2. diWhite Knightoxide   4 years ago

      Reason
      National Review
      CNN/MSNBC
      Newspapers
      Journalism
      Interpersonal relationships
      Politeness
      Manners
      "Fan" behavior at football games
      Baseball
      Attention Spans
      Writing
      Logic

  27. TJJ2000   4 years ago

    It's all a matter of prospective.
    Considering the massive progress made during the industrial revolution we're a sinking boat today in comparison.
    When's the last time you saw 'Made in the USA' instead of 'Made in China'?

  28. Thegreatone   4 years ago

    Of course tech has advanced, but has that made life better? Are people happier? Have you gained any freedom? I don't think so. The payments on cars now last longer than the cars. Wages have shrunk. Freedom is almost nonexistent. So tell me again things are getting better.

  29. Chuck P. (The Artist formerly known as CTSP)   4 years ago

    Multiple times I have seen guys with signs on street corners talking on smartphones. We have truly reached the pinnacle of civilization.

  30. Moderation4ever   4 years ago

    The world has gotten better and for a lot of people that is hard to take. We seem to be much happier when there is something to complain about. On the upside we have better medications for the depression we suffer when things are so good we have nothing to complain about.

    1. TJJ2000   4 years ago

      Ya; The Jews got a free shower and lunch -- Things were so good I'm not sure why they were complaining. Those are just Nazi-Guns forcing them around. What's so bad about Nazi Guns?

      1. Moderation4ever   4 years ago

        You a little behind the times and most of the Nazi are gone, so things are getting better.

        1. TJJ2000   4 years ago

          And yet we have a whole major party of Nazi's in the USA today.
          Nazi is an acronym for National Socialists.

          There is no need to ask 'how' such an evil regime came to power in Germany and how so many citizens joined the Nazi's.... All those questions are being answered right in front of everyone's eyes if they'd just so much as open them.

          1. NOYB2   4 years ago

            To be fair, Democrats aren't quite a Nazi-levels of progressivism yet.

            Yet.

            And Biden is too much of a moron to be like Hitler, much as he aspires to be.

  31. NOYB2   4 years ago

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