Conversely, most of those who cite global income and opportunity disparity while doing nothing to better the situation are merely using a disingenuous excuse to justify doing what they prefer to do at this stage of their lives: nothing. Another argument is that the individuals in society were more civilized and mutually respectful fifty years ago than they are today. In making that point, critics of contemporary often cite examples such as the way people used to dress in public and the way that people were more polite to one another. According to that argument, fifty years ago men typically wore shirts and ties, stood up when women entered the room and opened doors even for strange women, and everybody followed numerous other polite elements of social etiquette in public. By contrast, they argue that even grown men rarely dress well today, except to the extent they are required to at work; they no longer bother holding doors or engaging in other polite gestures that were expected fifty years ago.

In truth, society has merely become less hypocritical and less dishonest. Those who long for a return to the social etiquette of fifty years ago neglect the fact that symbolic displays of respect (such as those expected of men in relation to the politeness shown by men toward women) conflicted dramatically with the lack of

Given the choice, very few contemporary women would choose to trade their equal employment, reproductive, and other rights today in return for more polite social etiquette on the part of men.
The same holds true with regard to the fact that men may have dressed in shirts and ties fifty years ago. The respectful exterior demeanor of pressed suits and hats masked the tremendous lack of respect for the rights and sensibilities of minorities fifty years ago. From the point-of-view of a woman sexually harassed at work without any recourse or from the point-of-view of racial minorities deprived of basic American civil rights, it was no consolation that the demonstrators blocking their access to lunch counters, voting booths, and schools happened to be dressed impeccably in pressed shirts, ties, and hats.

Conclusion

Essentially, society has changed in many more substantial positive ways than it has changed in negative ways in the last fifty years. Modern relief agencies sponsored by the hard work of those genuinely committed to global benevolence have greatly improved the situation for millions living in the poorest parts of the world. Domestically, the superficial veneer of politeness that once helped mask the inherent inequities and injustice in American society has been eliminated and many of those fundamental underlying problems have been substantial resolved and not in any way exacerbated in that time.