Social Progress in the United States

As shown in the graphic here, the U.S. was making decent progress until fairly recently.

Some speculate that the emergence of Donald Trump on the political scene released a great deal of pent-up hatred, allowing, in fact encouraging, white people to be their “worst selves.”

Of course, there are other explanations, e.g.:

Historically, all democracies have limited life-spans

Fox News and the other misinformation “news” sources predated Trump by more than a decade.

Social movements tend to respond according to “pendulum swings,” and perhaps it was simply time for America to revert into darkness.