David, all all valid points, and I think the only thoughtful response to this is that it depends. As with all things. On your area, the culture of your family, neighborhood, upbringing, your generational values, etc. Evil has always been with us (witness most Popes, sadly) but as you say, now we see it everywhere. I do think, again to your point, that we are ever so much more delicate and tender, addicted to our comforts and devices and so wholly unable to deal with difficulty. To that I would direct you to Michael Easter’s book The Comfort Crisis. Smart writing. I don’t agree with all he writes about but his research is impeccable. The less comfortable we are, the more powerful we feel; the more powerful we feel, the less threatening the world is. That’s the upward cycle. I choose that one. I don’t have the answer either; I just write what I observe. Doesn’t make me right, but what I see tends to track with the research that talks about our society.