I'm trying to maintain optimism that this current extreme escalation is the flailing death throes of a generation raised into bigotry and self-aggrandization, and that we'll come out the other side of this being a better society (the younger generations today are so much more openly altruistic and progressive on the whole).

Well, I don't fault you for any of it. This part will require vigorously investigating, rooting out our liberal narrative, and reeducating ourselves.