There's many things to be optimistic about, but the complex nature of society means progress will likely look like a slow crawl towards the right direction, but we'll eventually get there.

One place to look at are teenagers. They grew up with the internet and open access to information. If you sit down and speak with any of them, they are more aware of the areas that need improvement and are not afraid to speak out about them, regardless of the fact that modern society tries to throw everything at them to keep them from doing so.