Modern or Medieval?

I definitely believe that human beings are much more civilized today than they were in earlier civilizations. Yes, there may still be murders and types of segregation today, but the repercussions for these acts are much different than what they were in previous times. For example, in Electra, Orestes murders his mother and stepfather to avenge his father's death. Back then this was viewed as simply justice; today, Orestes would have been locked away in prison probably for life. This is very similar to the ruling system that was set up in Mesopotamia, commonly known as "an eye for an eye". If some kind of wrong doing or crime was committed, everyone believed that you could simply set it right by doing an equal act in return. In today's society this would be viewed as extremely barbaric and unacceptable. 139 One major thing that would definitely not be tolerated today are the proud and public lynchings of African Americans today. There might be mild instances of racial segregation today, but the violence that was exhibited and displayed during the times that Coming of Age in Mississippi was set in would not be tolerated, and further more praised, today like it was so many years ago.
In saying that our society today is more "modern" than previous societies, I think we are absolutely correct. By simply looking at the different ways that things like punishments and disciplinary actions that are taken today. However, there is definitely evidence to argue that we are still stuck in somewhat medieval ideas. In society as a whole, women's rights and privileges have most definitely advanced and improved, but there are still many instances where women are treated differently and unfairly simply because of the fact that they are a female. While we have seen great strides 300 for women equality, for example the achievements made by Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, and Nancy Pelosi, there are still methods and examples of the male population viewing the females as insufficient. For example, often times women are given more consideration for certain schools or jobs simply because institutions think that females need some kind of extra help to balance things out between the males. Being a very strong, independent, and intelligent female myself, this is extremely insulting to me. Why do people think that women need or should have extra points simply to get us on the same level as men? This is completely parallel with the ideas and thinkings exhibited in Electra. The entire cast didn't believe that Electra was in well enough standings to avenge her father's death; however, Orestes was simply because he was a male. The fact that Electra was written so long ago and we still mildly suffer from the same problems shows how long it takes mankind to truly change and evolve.
In The Epic of Gilgamesh, there are many heroic and mythological stories of violence and death. While these may seem completely irrelevant to society today, they actually somewhat coincide with many happenings occurring today. Gilgamesh faces many battles and struggles, as do all of us every day in our culture. We face battles against starvation, terrorism, cancer, racism, and so on; to me, all of these things listed are just as great, if not even worse, enemies than what Gilgamesh continued to face.
I think there are many arguments to support the statement that we are definitely more modernized than earlier civilizations. The enemies we face, the punishments we receive, and the actions that are tolerated are all completely different to the ways these things were in all of our readings. While we do see small remnants of some of the foundations of these issues, they are definitely not as prominent or accepted as they once were. I think future generations will be extremely proud of the strides that we have made toward complete and utter equality and fairness.