Sometimes, I'm really glad that I was born into this generation.
Many of the values of older people scare me sometimes. I've noticed that the values and beliefs of the older generations tend to differ greatly than those of my generation, especially when it comes to tolerance.
At first, I thought it was just me, but then research reaffirmed my hypothesis; people's opinions really have changed over the past decade.
Take interracial marriage. Years ago, there were strict miscegenation laws. Now, it seems the country is moving forward with a nonchalant attitude in terms of race relations.
A recent Gallup Poll on American interracial dating found that just 45 percent of those over the age of 65 approve of it, while over 95 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds approve of interracial dating.
And since 18- to 29-year-olds are the future, we can clearly see where we are headed.
Intergroup marriage is usually seen as the ultimate sign of acceptance. So, if 95 percent of young people support interracial marriage, then maybe that's a sign that race relations are getting a lot better - even if it doesn't feel that way sometimes.
The attitudes about gay people have also changed dramatically, especially since the last generation.
According to two Los Angeles Times polls, "The level of sympathy [just a generation ago] toward gays and lesbians was half what it is today."
The polls also showed that "respondents between 18 and 29 were so much more favorably disposed toward gays" when compared with those over the age of 65, and that "young Americans were more than four times as likely to support same-sex marriage as those o ver 65."
The poll also shows how an overwhelming 70 percent of young Americans are against discharging a person from the military solely for being gay.
So, I'm guessing that within the next few years, the discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy will disappear forever, and maybe new laws will even be created that will eradicate foolish prejudice.
Polls are showing us that attitudes in this country seem to have changed pretty drastically over a fairly short amount of time.
This is definitive progress, but that's not to say that everything is getting better. Measuring something like that would be impossible. We can only say that there are bits and pieces of progress everywhere.
But we still have a long way to go. Last year, the FBI estimated that around 24 people are victims of hate crimes every day in this country - and those are just the ones that are reported.
And as much as we'd like to believe that we are accepting of religious diversity, since Sept. 11, we have seen a slight rise in anti-Semitism, but also a much larger rise in discrimination and hate crimes against Muslim- and Arab-Americans.
None of that is acceptable. Fear is no excuse for hatred.
One step ahead, two steps back - or is it, two steps ahead, one step back?
Hopefully our next generation will feel the same way I do.
Megan Wadding is a junior studying film. E-mail her at: Megan.Wadding@asu.edu.
