Medical technology alone would lead me to think things are better. Longer life spans, lower infant mortality rates, higher standards of living also seem better. Sure some things get better and others worse but overall I would rather live today than any time in the past.

__________________
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"