Guess what? The world isn't going to hell

It's a common riff - things are worse than they used to be. Back when I was a lad, sometime in the late Jurassic, you got a better class of nostalgia, but you also had more wars, more destructively, and more internationally, according to a report by Professor Andrew Mack of the Human Security Centre at the University of British Columbia. The report can be viewed here. It seems that since the end of the Cold War, there has been an unprecedented decline in war and deaths from war.

What about Rwanda, Chechnja, and Africa, I hear you say? Well, they are reported on by the media incessantly, and rightly so, but in terms of numbers, this is the best time in modern history ever. If you are constantly worried, don't watch the TV news or read newspapers. It seems that the media's desire for drama and crisis overloads our ability to see the world as it really is.

One interesting point is that the UN has been remarkably effective in preventing the continuation or resurgence of wars, contrary to neocon dogma. If the US would only pay its dues at the UN, it could perhaps be even more effective. Or is that contrary to the US's own perceived interests? Cynic that I am, I suspect this might be the case. Or at any rate, the interests of those lobby groups in the military and industry that make the US the best next candidate for invasion to install democracy.

After all, we know they have WMDs...