57.        In determining whether we are becoming more respectful of one another's
differences, one must examine both overt actions and underlying motives, as well as
examining whether our differences are increasing or decreasing. The issue, therefore, is
quite complex, and the answer is unclear.
      Disrespect for one another's differences manifests itself in various forms of
prejudice and discrimination. Since the civil rights and feminist movements of the 60s
and 70s, it would seem that we have made significant progress toward eliminating racial
and sexual discrimination. Antidiscriminatory laws in the areas of employment, housing,
and education, now protect all significant minority groups racial minorities and women,
the physically challenged and, more recently, homosexuals. Movies and television
shows, which for better or worse have become the cynosure of our cultural attention,
now tout the rights of minorities, encouraging acceptance of and respect for others.
      However, much of this progress-is forced upon us legislative. Without Title 10 and
its progenies, would we voluntarily refrain from the discriminatory behavior that the
laws prevent? Perhaps not. Moreover, signs of disrespect are all around us today.
Extreme factions still rally around bigoted demagogues; the number of "hate crimes" is
increasing alarmingly; and school-age children seem to flaunt a disrespect toward adults
as never before. Finally, what appears to be respect for one another's differences may in
fact be an increasing global homogeneity—that is, we are becoming more and more
alike.
      In sum, on a societal level it is difficult to distinguish between genuine respect for
one another's differences on the one hand and legislated morality and increasing
homogeneity on the other. Accordingly, the claim that we are becoming more respectful
of one another's differences is somewhat dubious.