Has America Become More Virtuous?

David Brooks, writing in an opinion piece in an international newspaper, has expressed his belief that Americans are in the middle of a moral renaissance. According to Brooks, Americans are less likely to cause harm to each other and seem to take more interest in the welfare of their own children.

In a glowing review of recent societal trends, Brooks lavishes praise on America, citing encouraging statistics on domestic violence and teen pregnancy.

For more information, see this article in the International Herald Tribune.

Comment: Have we truly become more virtuous? The constant degradation of our culture in music and other methods of communication suggests otherwise. Nor do I see a public spirit of community that a truly virtuous society would promote. It is all too easy to point to individual statistics and draw conclusions based on one's own predilections. But it is more difficult to devise answers to societal problems that such indicators ignore.