Speaking specifically about USA culture, be sure to take into account a few facts

• It was only 35-40 years ago that it became widely acceptable for African Americans to vote in areas where there were significant concentrations of that ethnic group. During the same time, African American children were schooled separately in consistently inferior schools. African Americans were also widely prohibited from serving on juries, which created a huge problem for them to get fair trials. Even as late as 1970, newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall had to buy a house sight unseen because whenever he and his wife showed up to look at a house the realtors refused to sell to him. These are issues that are central to everything America stands for, yet they were virtually ignored by most of the population.

• As part of the same culture mentioned in the previous point, lynchings of blacks were quite common into the 1960's. They were often public spectacles. Even whites who found them distasteful would often say that groups like the Klan served the purpose of "keeping blacks in their place".

• Although it continues to be a serious problem, it wasn't until the 1980's that a woman could report being raped and hope to be taken seriously. Before that time, victims were more likely to be blamed than to get attention. (That may still be the case, but I would assert that the situation has improved significantly.) Before about 1940, the only recourse a victim was likely to get was if friends or family members enforced vigilante style revenge.

• Abused children also had very little recourse before the 1980's. Again, the situation is hardly perfect (as someone who works in a shelter for homeless families, believe me, I know the problem still exists). However, previous to the publication of "Mommy Dearest", this country barely acknowledged the problem of child abuse. For example, in her autobiography, Suzanne Somers talks about how she would tell her priest that her father would get drunk and rape her, and the only response was that she should go home and try really hard to be a good little girl.

• And now that we're on the topic of priests, let's recognize that virtually all institutions that took care of children used to give virtually free reign to child molesters, from Catholic churches to public schools to private schools to mental hospitals. The abuses are too long to name. Today there are at least a set of checks to try to stem the problem. Certain policies do help. For example, all hospitals now allow 24 access to parents who have children in intensive care. That's new. Yes, the problems still exist, but I do think they are improved.

• Drunk driving used to be considered far more acceptable than it is today. As late as the 1950's it was considered an almost charming little foible. A patchwork of public relations and law enforcement efforts have changed attitudes significantly.

• It is only in the last couple decades that government corruption has become a serious issue. As late as President Kennedy's term, corrupt political machines were openly accepted and fostered. Although there were occasional movements to clean up, most people in heavily corrupt districts considered the corruption beneficial. Many people were encouraged to vote "early and often", as the old joke went. Yes, again, the problem isn't solved, but it is taken far more seriously, especially by federal investigators. I believe that fair elections are a cornerstone of American, and to simply laugh off corruption is to ignore a cancer in our society.

• So far I've only discussed changes over the last several decades. We only need to go back 150 years to find even more revolting morals that were perfectly common. Until the mid 1860's, it was legal in this country to own human beings, to kill them if you wanted, to break up their families, rape them, torture them, and generally do any cruel thing you wanted to them. Although most whites who owned slaves wanted to be considered "good masters" who were abusive, the fact remained that anybody in a slave state who was inclined to abuse blacks had free reign to do so, and society would support it.

  Let's also not forget the treatment of Native Americans. Imagine someone coming to where you live and simply declaring that you have to leave, it's theirs now. If you resisted, they shot you. George Custer, who was mourned as a brave soldier, was the leader of some of the most horrific mass slaughters of men, women and children in our history. Events like The Trail of Tears should be remembered as a great shame on this country's history and should be remembered as the kind of thing we should never let happen again.

These are a few of the more obvious improvements in our society. There are many far more subtle changes. It is far more acceptable today to be openly gay, transgender, openly Muslim or Jewish (I would like too see a lot more improvement in the attitudes toward our Wiccan brothers and sisters, e.g. our friend NolaWitch), and other beliefs and lifestyles that differ from the perceived normal. I'm a Christian Missionary, and I freely admit that I would love to convert every person reading this posting (in fact I brag it). But I would do so with love, not with hate, which is totally not in Jesus' way.

That's not to say that I believe that all morals have improved in all ways. The growing acceptance of sex among young teenagers is a serious problem. While the sexual revolution of the 60's and 70's removed the layers of prudery that simply hid (not prevented or probably even much reduced) promiscuous sex, I would still like to see a return to the idea that sex is something for committed, married couples, or (understanding that not everybody agrees with that view), that it is something only for adults who have spent time getting to know each other and made the conscious choice to engage in that type of activity.

It's always easy to say that things used to be better, and you can always find a ready audience for that sort of rhetoric. It's a great way to create a sense of urgency. However, it's counter productive for the country. Do we really want to go back to the days of discrimination and hiding?

So, to wrap up, although nobody is saying morals are perfect, or even "good enough", I see significant improvement in our society.