Certainly the golden rule is the cornerstone of morality, and the part that is missed is the "do onto" part. For example, I don't think things like polygamy or gay marriage are about morality, because they aren't doing anything harmful to an unwilling party. We must be extremely cautious about invented morality, where someone says that something is wrong because they disapprove of it (often without logical backing), and then this version of morality gets passed down for centuries...and now you have indoctrinated beliefs which were false from the beginning.
With respect to the "state of morality", mistreatment was almost always worse in the past if you look at it sociologically and historically. That is why we have had class revolutions, slavery abolition, and any number of other problems. The problems people have with morality now are things that people are discovering aren't about morality at all. It's not immoral to do drugs, or to have *** with 1000's of men, or anything of that nature. Sure, it might be a bit excessive, but there is nothing inherently immoral about excess (and if it were, then we have always been immoral because there is nothing humans love more than excess). The moral causes of late are mostly invented. Sure, there are problem areas, but morality in general has improved by leaps and bounds with each passing year, particularly in developed countries. And I believe that, if we can help raise the standard of living for them, the developing countries will see similar improvements (and some already have).
