Staring at public data is generally a pretty good way to alleviate stress about many of the negatives we perceive in the United States (assuming you have the mathematical literacy to understand what you are seeing). While there is still a lot of room for improvement, particularly with regard to other countries, crime rates have been experiencing a very big downward trend since the early 1990s, overall life expectancy is going up, and numerous categories of accidents have shown marked improvements. But education is an area where the outlook isn't quite as positive.