Stay Positive: Ireland's Repeal of Its Abortion Ban

It's hard for me to be positive in times like these, but Ireland's recent vote to repeal its stupid abortion ban is good news: "Ireland Votes To Overturn Its Abortion Ban." 

This vote confirms Steven Pinker's sanguine conclusions in his recent book, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress. 

In his chapters he paints a picture about how as generations progress they tend to be more liberal, open-minded, knowledgeable, and accepting of others. 

For example, in his Equal Rights chapter, Pinker states, "Not only has the American population become more liberal, but each generational cohort is more liberal than the one before it" and "the values of Western countries have been getting steadily more liberal." 

Using vast sums of research, Pinker uncovers this: "The data show that more liberal countries are also, on average, better educated, more urban, less fecund, less inbred (with fewer marriages among cousins), more peaceful, more democratic, less corrupt, and less crime- and coup-ridden."

In addition, in the Knowledge chapter, he states that "Studies of the effects of education confirm that educated people really are more enlightened. They are less racist, sexist, xenophobic, homophobic, and authoritarian."