@Wolfie_Rankin Regrettably the kinder, fairer, better version can only ever be fiction. Just look at this world, at the cruel greedy govts in power both East and West - you can only despair.
Born in WW2 I grew up with the naive belief that good could eventually win out worldwide.
At one point Berlin Wall fell, there was Glasnost w Gorbachev, Mandela was freed, apartheid ended in SA, Northern Ireland was peaceful.
But by end of 1990's it all fell apart again and got more & more cruel in so many ways. My shreds of hope fled forever then.

@Wolfie_Rankin I make up for my disillusion by re-reading SF like Becky Chambers Wayfarer Series.
That is brilliant, it paints a far better but still imperfect universe, has fascinating alien characters, clever space travel, glorious imagination as well as humour.
If you do not know it already, start at The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet and then the five following books.
It could have developed into a long space opera, but she has wisely kept to a varied series of six books, w slight connections cropping up, but each original & individual. Absolute joy to read. And leaves a lot of questions in your mind to think about. 😉
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