The trend towards progress has not been consistent over the course of history. The Romans were a step backwards from the Greeks; the monarchs, nobility, and theocratic tendencies of the medieval periods were a step back from the Romans. The world in 1938 was panicked and unenlightened, far from the progress that had been made by 1928.
Sometimes, a move backwards may only be a little bump in the road, a temporary slide into more primitive modes of thinking, but those "little bumps" can be dangerous for people like us. A temporary shift in site policies to reflect that danger is appropriate.
Megan, in general, I agree with your view as stated, with the exception of the claim that knowledge and awareness will continue to erode the power of those who seek to harm us. It depends somewhat on where we live, and on the social class we're born into, but as a society the US is less educated than most other developed nations. Misinformation is common in this era. We live in a society where many see science, educators, and newspapers as political and fraudulent, while accepting unsupported claims by politicians, celebrities, and internet personalities. In these times, even knowledge itself has come under attack.
The only way to reverse that new trend is for people like us to stand against it. If society continues to improve after this, it will be because we did our part to change it. Change does not happen on its own, it is not our immutable destiny. Change only happens when people make it happen, and right now, we are those people.
