Essay Analysis

OPINIONS : Buck up , gang : Life 's never been so good

The OP-Ed article which I chose was contained in the Santa Fe New Mexican on Friday , May 7th , 2010 on page A-7 . The article was written by Michael Shermer who lists himself as the publisher of Skeptic magazine and an adjunct professor at Claremont Graduate University . He also lists himself as an author . The Santa Fe New Mexican piece was a reprint from the Los Angeles Times

The title of the article is what originally intrigued me and as I read this

opinion piece I realized that I was basically in agreement with him . His thesis which he succinctly summarizes in the last paragraph is that what a lot of people wish for now are the good old days ' were not so good . He points to many examples in the article of the advantages of today . He acknowledges that modern society has its problems but society has always had its problems and probably always will . He suggests that rather than neglect or ignore problems we ought to recognize that modern society has advantages which surpass those of any other time in history and that if we focus on the present and accept its challenges humanity can achieve a better future . But , I guess I may be getting ahead of my analysis

He starts his piece by discussing the relative poverty of a small Brazilian village today and relates it to how most of the world 's population would have existed...