I haven't looked at ES6/7, and its true that any language in the wrong hands can be ugly. But there's a lot wrong with JS besides how it interfaces with the DOM[1]. Which is funny because it was originally conceived as a browser scripting language[2].
And JS beating flash and java applets may be more a result of market forces (Apple) and the lack of better alternatives.
Brendan Eich designed JS in 10 days for the early era of the web, which is very different today. Its both a testament to the language and the hacks on top of it that its stayed in use this long. But maybe its time to move on?
https://twitter.com/codinghorror/status/476826733576847360