Scroll through the opinion section of Teen Ink. I dare you. Throughout it you will find dozens of articles about how teens are too bad-mouthed, violent, politically disinterested or sex crazed and how terrible the media, government, and our culture in general are. A visitor from the past who saw Teen Ink today would think we were living in some kind of dystopia.

But here are some facts to consider. Violent crime is almost half of what it was twenty years ago. Statistically, and assuming for the purpose of this article, that you are living in the U.S., you are less likely to die at the hands of another human being right now than you would have at almost any other point in human history. We are much less tolerant of violence today than we have been historically. Genghis Khan and Attila the Hun can and would be put on trial for war crimes nowadays.

The teenagers of today are incredibly tolerant compared to how they were just forty years ago with racism and homophobia being much less common. We are leading a crusade against bullying and for environmentalism. Teen pregnancy rates are a quarter of what they were when your parents were growing up. So anyone who talks about how corrupted teen are today needs to examine that fact.

All in all, with this article, I was hoping to create a glimmer of optimism to shine through the hallow of negativity that seems to pervade Teen Ink. I have no intention of insulting Teen Ink, for a heavily enjoy it and if I didn't, then I wouldn't take the time to post here.