U.S. SOCIETY In big ways, America is better off these days

In another sign of hope, the birth rate among American teenagers has fallen by half in the last two decades, from 61.8 births per 1,000 teenagers in 1991 to 31.3 per thousand in 2011. The decline was especially sharp among minority groups, for example falling among non-Hispanic black teens from 118 per 1,000 in 1991 to 47.4 per 1,000 in 2011.

It’s worth exploring why such facts come as a surprise to many. Part of it is simple nostalgia, with people inclined to believe the past was better than it actually was. Some of it can be explained by a concerted effort to discredit every endeavor in which government plays a role, particularly public schools. That is accelerated by the emergence of an entire education industry whose hopes for future profits depend on dismantling confidence in our public system.

And part of it may be bias, whether conscious or unconscious, which in turn produces disbelief that a country that is increasingly nonwhite can also be much less violent and just as well educated as the America of previous generations. The bottom line is, we do not live in a society that is falling apart at the seams and is destined to become a futuristic dystopia. We do face major challenges, particularly in the economic sphere, but we have less reason than ever to withdraw into gated communities and gated mindsets in fear of each other. In fact, we live in a society that is adjusting to dramatic change pretty well, even if the pace of that change can be disconcerting.

Happy birthday, America. You’re still looking good.

Mona Charen

My Opinion

I feel a very unusual sensation. If it is not indigestion, I think it must be gratitude. — Benjamin Disraeli

The very wise Yuval Levin, editor of National Affairs, describes the differing dispositions of liberals and conservatives this way: Liberals are moved by outrage at what is wrong with their society; conservatives feel gratitude for what is right.

“You need both,” Levin allows, and generously reminded a conservative audience, “We should never forget that the people who oppose our various endeavors and argue for another way are well intentioned, too, even when they’re wrong, and that they’re not always