We live in times that are significantly different in a number
of ways from those in which I was raised.  
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Children don't walk miles to school, or take buses into the 
city alone, (even when they get older) and concerns about 
drugs and abductions have become almost obsessive.  Instead
of teaching children to be responsible, we ensure that 
nothing harmful ever reaches them, thus stinting their experience
with actual reality, and giving them an unrealistic confidence 
that nothing can go wrong which could be detrimental in the long run.
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Partisanship in politics has reached new heights in both intensity
and in gamesmanship.  When Robert's Rules of Order stopped making
their editions reflect the actual behaviours in Congress, it should
have made us aware that things were getting out of control, but then 
again, few of us read forwards on reference books.  Faith in the
integrity and intentions of government has fallen to new lows, as
more and more information about the behind-the-scenes realities of 
campaign finance and lobbying see the light of day.
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There are signs that the polarization is starting to wane.  Groups like Liberty on the Rocks are bringing together voters of all persuasions to listen to one another and try to come up with solutions, rather than spending time on partisan bickering.
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I did an interview with Amanda Teresi of Liberty on the Rocks that you may find interesting:
<a href="interview-final.pdf">Amanda Teresi Interview</a><br>
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The internet has made spin-checking a lot easier.  Claims made by
politicians, companies, services, etc., can be checked with hundreds,
even thousands of other consumers on internet lists, consumer online
magazines, ads from competing companies, etc.  Users are far less 
likely to fall for sound bites and simple explanations.  Campaigns
and issues groups are able to reach a great many more people on the
internet without having to resort to buying expensive mailing lists
and printing costs, although website creation is still difficult and
expensive, sites reach worldwide.
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The other way children learn, through public schools for most, has
changed radically, and for the worse.  The mechanics of feeding a
more centralized bureaucracy (like data for No Child Left Behind)
has become a priority greater than discovering the learning 
styles (very individual) of the students, and focusing on optimizing
what each child needs.  This approach leads to boredom, teaching to
the lowest common denominator, rifts and cliques are generated
forcing students into competing camps, with all the instability that 
leads to.  Home schooling has made great strides, only to have the
bureaucracy attempt to clamp down, demanding that home school teachers
be trained the same way as the less successful public school teachers.
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Centralization in general has increased.  Every municipality belongs to 
organizations that further "train" them to conform to guidelines that
seem to supercede listening to the concerns and requests of the voting
public, the true constituents of local government.  States are lobbied
by groups attempting to standardize legislation on any one of a number
of issues, from climate change to auto safety, taking time away from
discussing community needs and statewide long-term planning.  The most
concerning part of this is that it removes the feeling that elected
officials have any real responsibility for their decisions, which are
viewed as simply following orders from more centralized lobbying
organizations, further degrading faith in elected government officials.
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