[njarboe]

I would suggest reading some more ancient history to get a larger view of the great accomplishments of the west and you might feel a little different. Some of them are:

Abolition of slavery world wide (almost everywhere)

Women liberation

The rule of law and not men

Great advances in medicine reducing suffering (anesthesia and surgery, vaccines)

Birth mortality going from 50% of children dying in 1800 to about 1% today

Maternal mortality going from 5 per 1000 to .1 per 1000

The average person being able to own their own private coach (car) and eat like the kings of old

Universal education

Space exploration

Of course there are many things to improve. Let's get at it.

[lostemptations5]

None of these are ancient accomplishments if you like them. They're all since say 1900.

[njarboe]

Yes. You need to know how things were for the span of history to understand how today is different.