The Decline and Fall of the Human Race

I have come to the conclusion that the human race has reached its pinnacle and is now moving backward. How far back remains to be seen.

Humans have developed wonderful technologies and made amazing advances in the sciences and medicine. But we have apparently lost our souls, our humanity, our sense of compassion and our concern for the planet on which we live. Consider the following:

• It appears that we have learned nothing from centuries of warfare, as countries continue to engage in wars across the world.
• Battles over religions continue, with adherents of various religions trying to force others to live according to their beliefs, and worse, murdering those who don't adhere to their way of thinking.
• Far too many are still unable to see past differences in skin color, religion or nationality.
• Our sense of community is practically non-existent.
• People continue to force animals -- dogs and chickens -- to fight for their lives as 'entertainment' and greed.
• It's all about 'me.' I want what I want when I want it. People with this way of thinking don't care who gets in their way.
• We are destroying the only home we have, through overpopulation, pollution and  greed.
• We are forcing many species of plants and animals toward extinction through loss of habitat, hunting for 'trophies' and for supposed magical cures.
• Violence against others who are somehow different is increasing, whether they are Jewish, Muslim, gay, transgender or anything other than straight, white and Christian.
• Mass killings in the US are so commonplace they barely rate a mention in the daily news.
• Sympathy for others, whether immigrants or animals left outside in -40 F temperatures, is on the decline.
• Many people communicate primarily electronically, mostly via text message, rather than face to face. We don't engage with others as we used to.
• Road rage doesn't just involve shouting at someone any more. Now it's just as likely to involve someone pulling out a gun and shooting at the other driver. In the state where I live, a 6-year-old girl was fatally shot in a road rage incident.
• A disgruntled former employee may well return to his former place of employment and shoot his manager and former co-workers (and yes, nearly all these attacks are carried out by men). 
• Civil discourse appears to be a thing of the past. When is the last time you saw a reasoned conversation by people with different opinions? Now people simply resort to name calling and insults.
• American judges (certainly not all, but far too many) are failing to impose serious sentences on those convicted of serious crimes. Animal abusers get off with a fine and a few months of probation. A pedophile in his 60s was sentenced to a prison sentence of half the typical sentence, while the two teenage girls he sexually assaulted were labeled by the judge as "aggressors."
• We are killing our oceans and our marine life with tons and tons of plastic. 
• Too many people seem to think that laws are meant for everybody else, but not for them.

Unless an awful lot of people step up to stop this decline in how humans act and treat each other, I'm glad I won't be here when the species finally destroys the planet, the resources on which life depends, and our society. It won't be pretty. It isn't too late to make a change, but time is short and we all need to act NOW.