Obama says now ‘most peaceful’ era in human history

In Germany earlier today, Obama says we are fortunate to live “in the most peaceful, most prosperous, most progressive era in human history.”

“I want to begin with an observation that, given the challenges that we face in the world and the headlines we see every day, may seem improbable, but it’s true,” he says. “We are fortunate to be living in the most peaceful, most prosperous, most progressive era in human history. That may surprise young people who are watching TV or looking at your phones and it seems like only bad news comes through every day. But consider that it’s been decades since the last war between major powers. More people live in democracies. We’re wealthier and healthier and better educated, with a global economy that has lifted up more than a billion people from extreme poverty, and created new middle classes from the Americas to Africa to Asia.”

“If you had to choose a moment in time to be born, any time in human history, and you didn’t know ahead of time what nationality you were or what gender or what your economic status might be, you’d choose today — which isn’t to say that there is not still enormous suffering and enormous tragedy and so much work for us to do,” the US president says.