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Focuses on the most influential United States crime stories of each decade of the twentieth century. How crimes are a reflection of society; Details of the activities of criminals, including Al Capone, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, Charles Manson and Jeffrey Dahmer; Predictions of an increase in the brutality of crimes in the twenty-first century.

The article discusses the contributions of immigrants to U.S. society as they volunteer for the military, create jobs and help their communities. Topics include the views of immigrant children on immigration and the political battle over immigrants in the U.S., and how people in the country illegally have declined as a percentage of the labor force.

Experts assess America's needs on the economy, deficits, arms control, weapons systems, medicaid, teacher quality, toxic chemicals.

Family life, the economy, health and education, national power-all have been transformed in little more than a generation. Ahead: even faster change. The ten forces: a maturing society; lure of the sun belt; computer revolution; foreign competition; women on the move; rise of minorities; declining superpowers; government under fire; education boom; medical miracles. Drawings and graphs.

Discusses public sentiment in the United States one week before the 1996 presidential election. The lack of one single national issue that is disturbing; The presence of many smaller issues; The difference between this time and the time before the 1994 election, which ushered in the `Republican revolution'; President Bill Clinton's focus on social issues; President Clinton's patriotism; The ethical issues.

Focuses on the role of churches in antipoverty work. The talk of a second welfare revolution which would let churches and charities, not government, provide more of the social safety net; Views of supporters and detractors of the idea; The question of whether churches can replace the social safety net; Whether government can help charities flourish; The role of faith in overcoming drug addiction and recidivism. INSET: A golden age of charity, by J.P.S..

Presents the results of a poll that reveals an ill-mannered climate in the United States in the mid-1990s. Public opinion about the serious nature of incivility and what it can be attributed to; The definition of civility; Other issues including the civility of different groups and the lack of civility in areas like schools, law, politics and popular culture.

Analyses a surge of debate in 1996 on the erosion and possible resuscitation of American civic society, with details of a discussion in Waterville, Maine to plot that region's future. Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam's article, `Bowling Alone' as the start of discussion; Community groups including The Pew Charitable Trust; Lack of church involvement in modern-day welfare and social service programs.

Offers letter from several men and women that speak from the heart about the values they hold dear. Honesty, Leston Havens; Responsibility, Carmen Gordon; Tolerance, Tony Campolo; Self-discipline, Luis J. Rodriguez; Courage, Jim and Jennifer Stolpa; Work, Fruzsina Harsanyi; Perseverance, Levi V. Perry; Faith, Rev. Bryant Kirkland.

Reports that as President Bill Clinton ends his first year in office, Americans are careening between hope and fear, searching for signposts to lead them through the troubling tenuousness of life in the 1990s. Concern about crime; Skills gap; Waning values; Foreign and domestic issues; Efforts to stop children from bearing children; Results of `U.S. News' poll on America's problems.

Offers thoughts from a wide range of people on what they think life will be like in the year 2053. Work will be far less central to people's lives; Reproductive rights will be reduced dramatically; Battle of the sexes will be long over; Changes in business, culture, medicine, technology, race, spirituality, lifestyles. INSET: The way we will be..

Details the American scene a year before the attack on Pearl Harbor and into the early 1940s. Great Depression fading; The effects of the New Deal throughout different aspects of American life; American feeling of security before Pearl Harbor; Communities sharply divided by class and ethnic groups; Racism; The American dream; Tuberculosis, the big killer; Equal-rights amendment. INSET: Heroes.;Couples (in movies); Commerce; Women.;Children....

America's regional character has rarely been so evident, and the nation has sharply different area concerns. Human concerns for eight regions in the nation for 1987. New England: Vermont ski slopes. Mid-Atlantic: Chesapeake Bay cleanup. Far West: How to maintain quality of life in an era of galloping growth. Southeast: Economic change is splitting the South. Southwest: The best that can be hoped for is a bottoming out of the recession caused by skidding oil prices.

The article discusses how U.S. president Donald Trump's administration's Opioids: The Crisis Next Door campaign needs more diverse viewpoints to have a larger impact. Topics include the Opioids: The Crisis Next Door campaign which is a White House-led digital initiative that urges people from across the U.S. to share their experiences with opioid addiction and recovery.

Presents an outlook for 1998 regarding the United States' social problems. The suggestion that many of America's social problems are turning around; The number of years of economic growth it took to convince a majority of Americans that the economy is performing reasonably well.

Discusses how society in American has changed since 1933. The American society of 1933; The slow formation of the woman's movement; The dramatic shift in sexual behavior and society's view of it; The influence of television; The social conscience of today's responsible leaders.

The author reflects on the status in 2010 of the United States and other Western countries economically, intellectually, and physically in light of statements made by philosopher Oswald Spengler in his book "The Decline of the West" in 1918. The author argues that Western countries have become too narrow-minded and self-indulgent, leading them to face problems of debt. He suggests that the U.S. influence of power in the global economy will shrink due to changes in fiscal expenditures.

Reports on a new studies on the religious life of Americans by University of Arizona sociologist Mark Chaves and music historian David Stowe. Statistics on the number of Americans who attend worship services regularly; Observation by Chaves that, on average, congregations put little effort into politics and community service programs, but are engaged in cultural activities such as musical and theatrical performances; Details of Stowe's book, "How Sweet the Sound: Music in the Spiritual Lives of Americans," in which he describes the variety of musical traditions in American churches.

Examines a report from the United States Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem. Report on the economic and social consequences of the so-called Y2K problem; Expected brownouts and food shortages; Disruption of the economy; Impact of the computer problem on the health care sector, utilities, and transportation systems; Computers in the Social Security Administration. INSET: He solved Rubik's cube. Can he fix Y2K? by Thomas K. Grose.

A pivotal period that could shift the course of history. With a second-term President and new approaches to deficit and security problems, the country faces major tests. Some are: the budget, arms race, Moslem terror, the deficit, genetic engineering, and gaps in the country's beneficence.

Reports on facets of American life which are in an improved state in December 1996. Schools; Drug abuse; Crime; Health; Race; Examples of improvement in each; Why each has improved.

Opinion. Argues that America is starting to resemble the one that elected William McKinley president nearly a century ago, rather than the United States in which President Bill Clinton grew up. How blacks, Hispanics and Asians resemble the three most distinctive groups of 100 years ago; Triumph of the centralizers; Revealing features of 1994 politics; Robert Wiebe's book, `The Search for Order'; Samuel Lubell's `The Future of American Politics.'

Considers how the moon landing, a triumph of courage and imagination, could never have happened in the present skeptical age. Trust in the government by Americans in the 1960s; Acceptance of heroes; America's loss of innocent faith in their government which is much lamented; Comments by Vice President Al Gore at Harvard University on cynicism in America.

Discusses how an eruption of random violence in America has elevated the crime issue to the top of national concerns. Fear which flows not just from television pictures but from real-life experiences; Fear level which has become corrosive; Comments by Mayor Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City; Melvin Carter.

Discusses the Machine Kingdom, which consists of computers, television sets, automobiles, and other devices, and the feeling of being increasingly out of control because of them. Two revolutions in this Machine Kingdom's way of thinking that have been less widely noted; How machines confuse the ability to predict; How machines master humans.

Editorial. Stresses that Americans cry out for serious and constructive action that speaks to long-term solutions rather than to short-term political expediency. The tragic aftermath of the Rodney King verdict; The impression of violence as a way of life in the black underclass; The breakdown of the black family; Black teenage unemployment rate close to 40 percent; The New Realism; A need for solutions; The need for leadership; More.

Advises investors, home buyers, consumers and travelers concerning economic effects of recession and inflation threats. Where to invest in stocks; What to do with bonds and mutual funds; Precious metals; Nailing down a home mortgage; when to orderheating-oil supplies for homeowners; Travel options; New car shoppers.

Presents a series of vital statistics on predicted changes for the 1990s. Workplace; Education; Family; Health; Home.

Discusses how to make America great again. Argues that Americans must figure out what parts of the country's culture need to be altered and what should be retained in order to catch up with competitors. Japan's technological success and lessons it learned from the West.

Presents suggestions on how to get children to do chores. Reasons why chores for children declined in the United States during the 20th century, including parents desire to let their children focus on academics and sports; The importance of chores as a way to learn life skills; Comments by Anthony Wolf, author of 'Get Out of My Life, but First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall?'

Compares quality of living statistics in the United States from the beginning and end of the twentieth century. Evidence which suggests that people think that society has taken a turn for the worse; Efforts to find out why progress does not always increase happiness.

Comments on the practice of journalism in the United States and the profession's lack of credibility. Author's view on the American Society of Newspaper Editors' journalism credibility project; Disconnection between journalists and the public; Reporters' work reflecting the values of the social and cultural elite; Suggestion for diversity in the newsroom.

Reports the results of a poll by `U.S. News' concerning problems with which voters in the United States were most concerned as of fall 1999, and which political party they favored to fix them. Issues of restoring moral values, improving education and health care, strengthening Social Security and Medicare, reducing taxes and government spending, strengthening the economy, and fighting crime and drugs; How the issues affected the images of the Democratic and Republican parties.

Editorial. Comments on affirmative action in the United States. The author's view that the program has gone awry; Limitation of affirmative action in California and Washington; The multicultural ethos promoted in the 1970s replacing the spirit of one nation; A proposal to prevent employment discrimination against parents; Efforts to broaden the definition of disability to include Americans with correctable medical problems.

Presents information on the study of Americans in the suburban areas by sociology Alan Wolfe. His book `One Nation, After All,' finding that most people are embracing the three central values in their lives: God, family and country; How a Christian nation had adjusted to a proliferation of other religions; Americans having a mature patriotism; Americans appearing to be moving to a moderate, tempered middle.

A year-end survey conducted by US News found that readers of the magazine are concerned about education, crime, the budget deficit and the future of social security. Results of the survey are tabulated.

Profile of the American population, based on the Census Bureau and other government reports. Here is population growth; education; jobs; poverty; living patterns in a nutshell.

Opinion. Comments on poll results reporting that most young people get the majority of their news from the late-night monologues of television stars David Letterman and Jay Leno. Advice on how to position the late-night shows as credible dispensers of essential information; The humorous suggestion of bringing Leno and Letterman up to the standards of electronic journalism.

Reports volunteerism among college freshmen is at an all-time high, according to a survey conducted by the University of California--Los Angles and the American Council on Education. Percentage of freshmen and American adults who volunteered their time in 1996; Percentage of freshmen who consider community leadership important; Percentage interested in teaching careers; Percentage approving of abortion and casual sex.

Presents facts extrapolated from Fordham University's Index of Social Health. The doubling of the gross domestic product from 1970 through 1994; Which social problems improved; Which social problems worsened; Comments of Marc Miringoff; Other facts.

Cites several benchmarks of incivility in the United States in the mid-1990s. Television advertisements and programs with foul language and gestures; Large corporations cashing in on this trend; Other issues including a New York talk show host's reaction to the possible death of Commerce Secretary Ron Brown; Attempts at reform and where they must begin.

Opinion. Focuses on the issue of winning. Suggestion of O.J. Simpson prosecutor Christopher Darden that the case is not about justice, but about winning; Problems when politicians try to deconstruct moral issues; Examples of Bob Dole and his attack on Hollywood; How laws passed by Congress are also about winning; How public is looking for guidance and judgment; Suggestion that lawyers and politicians may be ill-suited to teach right from wrong.

Editorial. Examines how House Speaker Newt Gingrich wants to change the moral content and vocabulary of public life in America. His belief that an interventionist nanny state has eroded individual responsibility and undermined the network of community including friendship and neighborliness; Duties that have given way to rights and entitlements; Courage of Gingrich and the Republicans to respond, in moral terms, to issues such as welfare reform.

Profiles Ernest Baker, 44, of Clinton, Maryland, a manager at the Potomac Electric Power Co. Why suburban life is not all he had hoped it would be; Crime that abounds; How his politics have begun to change with the world around him; His Republican vote if he likes the GOP candidate; His complaints about Congress and the media.

Considers how America has long been a culturally diverse country. Deeply held differences on values that have erupted into political and sometimes military conflict; Historical look at values in conflict; Discord between the values of the feminist left and those of the religious right; Why value politics will likely continue.

Comments that on July 11 1994, there will be 2,000 more days until the year 2000. Although 51% of Americans believe that the nation is in decline some, like futurist Marvin Cetron, foresee an American renaissance in the coming years.

Editorial. Suggests that slowly, in ways both obscure and evident, something resembling a personal responsibility movement is building in American society. Difficulty recognizing signs of change, given how firmly the barnacles of excuse and victimology seem stuck to our political, social and cultural life; Individual responsibility suggested by baseball player Ryne Sandberg, President Bill Clinton's welfare plan, and Bill Bennett's `The Book of Virtues.'

Opinion. Discusses how a strong percentage of Americans support the caning of Michael Fay in Singapore. Comments by columnist Charles Krauthammer that the anti-Fay polls may be a reaction to the everything-goes regime of the past 30 years which has given our cities a palpable sense of danger and decay; Examples of how many American cities are eliminating public disorder; Optimism expressed by criminologist George Kelling.

Opinion. Focuses on two thoughtful writers who warn that Americans are stumbling toward dystopia, a situation in which conditions and the quality of life are dreadful. Charles Murray's `Wall Street Journal' piece, `The Coming White Underclass'; Journalist William McGowan's book, `Only Man Is Vile'; Suggestion that if Murray and McGowan are right, welfare for unwed mothers and racial and ethnic quotas are moving us toward dystopia; More.

Editorial. Comments on the importance of hope in America, so well emphasized in the inaugural speech last week of President Bill Clinton. What Americans want from Clinton; Americans seek a president who can perform on the domestic front; The natural advantages Clinton possesses; Why he should not be pressured to move too quickly.