IIRC, it was de Tocqueville who said something along the lines of:

"America is great because America is good.  And if she ceases to be good, she will cease to be great." (Loose rendering, but you get the point).

Where do you think we are in the balance of goodness?

Is the level of good increasing or decreasing in our nation?

As I define "good", it's hard to argue that it's getting better on the whole. Nonetheless, I remain hopelessly optimistic. I'm just that way.

In the political realm, on social issues, and most other aspects of our society, I see little to be optimistic about.

People call evil good and good evil.

We see evil and negative trends all around us as people have been turning their backs on God.

Thought: I've heard some people say they won't have kids because they don't want to bring children into such a messed up world.

The way I see it, if I do a proper job of raising my kids, then when I turn them loose I've raised the level of good in the world.  The other approach is just abandoning it to the heathens.