| We are much freer than we were at the time of the Founding, or in the 1830's, when De Toqueville visited. The franchise has been extended not only to universal manhood suffrage, without property qualification, but to women and blacks, as well. The media, rather than consisting of partisan, and often scurrilous, broadsheets with limited informational value, is rich and varied, encompassing newspapers, magazines and journals of various kinds, radio, television, and the Internet. We know far more, and have access to more varied points of view, than ever before. Legal protections are much greater since the '60s, some would say bending over backward in favor of suspects and the accused, as in the case of Miranda, or the exclusion rule for tainted searches. There are many organizations acting in the public interest, for various points of view, with considerable funding from grass- roots sources, foundations, and other sources. Thus, almost any point of view has its lobbyists or has a chance to have its day in court, assuming a prima facie case and standing. The power of the Federal government has been largely checked, by capping its revenue and encouraging the resurgence of state activity. Many important initiatives, such as welfare reform and charter schools, originated in the states. Segregation is no longer permissable de jure, and is gradually eroding de facto. Women have a full array of professional choices, and there are an ever decreasing number of "firsts" for them. Class lines are more fluid than at any time in our history, and much more so than in Europe. There is far less social determination of one's fate than was common even 30 or 40 years ago. There is a far greater degree of tolerance of bohemian arrangements, such as living together out of wedlock, and things that would have destroyed the careers of earlier stars, such as having children without benefit of marriage, or coming out of the closet, barely cause a ripple. People are more educated than they were in our grandparents' generation, when leaving school after the 8th grade was common, and far fewer had any college, and they have more chances to determine their own career choises. Politics is arguably less corrupt than during the period of the great urban machines, like Tammany Hall in New York and the Pendergast organization in Kansas City, and the process is more open, for example, permitting more people than ever to vote in primaries. All in all, we are doing pretty well.... |
