I’ve heard it theorized that the reason we are less tolerant is that we have fewer children. It was once not uncommon, not even that long ago, for a family to have several children, and one did not make it through childhood.

It was still tragic, of course, but I think people find it significantly more tragic if you have one child, and that child does not make it through childhood.

But I definitely agree that both are factors. I think the perception comes largely from the Internet. Everyone thinks crime is going up, even when it is going down, and the only reason that makes any sense is that we simply hear more about it.