Today’s World

Standards and morals

Many people who remember 1945 saw a sharp fall in standards and morals.

Freedom has grown, but so has family breakdown, crime, and distrust.

An ex-US Navy sailor who fought in the Second World War said that neighbours once helped each other, doors stayed unlocked, and street crime was rare.

Today, many places are very different, with violence in schools, weapon checks, teen pregnancy, and rising sexual health problems.

A collapse in restraint

As religion has weakened, restraint has also faded.

Violence, addiction, and family breakdown are now common in many Western countries.

Drug abuse was rare in the 1940s, but by the mid-1990s it had become part of daily life in many cities.

Drug gangs, street violence, and huge profits have turned it into a major industry.

Crime without borders

Organised crime now crosses frontiers with ease.

The UN Secretary-General warned that transnational crime corrupts leaders, harms trade, and weakens democracy.

It also damages human rights and public trust, so its effects reach far beyond the underworld.

A changed map

The world changed fast after colonial rule declined and Communism fell in Eastern Europe.

Many former Communist states turned to democracy, but the shift brought unemployment, weak currencies, and poverty.

Russia felt this hard, with millions living below the poverty line and basic costs outpacing incomes.

That same strain appears in other countries too, including the United States.

The next article gives the answer.