The future

I'm a science fiction writer, and even though I tend to write about the darker aspects of humanity, deep down, I've always held a cautious optimism that humanity would outgrow it's dark side, and we would go out and explore the universe, but as I look around at the world today, I find it very hard to believe that's possible anymore. Whether it's the willful ignorance of so many in the world, or the blind following of leaders who only have their own interests at heart, or the absolute hatred for others that I see in so many people, I have actually lost faith in humanity, and I fear that I'm now watching the fall of our civilization and our species.
The behavior of so many of my fellow human beings is revolting, and it seems like it's only getting worse. Yes, there have been wonderful stories coming out of COVID, the current protests, and all of the other events that have been going on in our world, but there are also so many terrible stories that it's difficult to believe that humanity can survive this, or even that humanity deserves to survive this.
Star Trek envisioned a world where humanity could overcome so many of our demons, and much of science fiction has embraced this idea, but can it even be true anymore? Have we gone so far down this horrible rabbit hole that we can never get out? I fear that humanity has lost its way, and we'll never be able to achieve what we could have achieved...