Thanks for this! I am writing the first video now, it's quite good.
This all reminds me of a book I read a few years ago:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Better_Angels_of_Our_Nature
Seems the world is NOT going to hell, it's actually getting better, on average, over time. As the video and your article says, the media seem to be feeding us stories that make us think the scary things are happening more often then they are. Pinker uses a lot of data to create charts that come to the same conclusion.
Thanks for writing about this interesting topic, and hopefully some people will get some insight into the way things really are, rather then what we are led to believe.
Yes Steven Pinker is a pretty famous proponent.
Nassim Taleb, whom I also admire, took issue with some statistical approaches in the book.
Overall I think Pinker is right.
When talking about violence specifically: it is very anecdotal as well.
I spent a year backpacking in Argentina, Brazil and a bit in Columbia. Never had one thing happening.
Yes you need to be careful and you definitely can't walk around as if it is Disney land.
Even in big cities, this are not the same depending on where you go.
What is striking though compared to Europe, is most people you meet have second hand experience (some close to them) who had a violent event happen in their life. You feel violence is a factor that is much closer to everyday life. Nevertheless life goes on, and people live their life, they are not terrified to go outside.
Neither was I. It is a constant vigilance mode though, you have to be aware of your surroundings.
In a sense that is what makes me laugh when I come back to Europe and hear people talk about how bad things are! Compared to South America this is truly Disneyland...