see I really don't know, probably so in general. but in the business world, I think they are they same. in government, i don't know. we'll just have to agree to disagree on this, but I believe what we percieve to be a in decline of morals, is really a function of more access to information. in gov't in the early years, that city official who gave his best friend a contract or built a road through his property would have never been questioned.
Maybe I read it wrong, but where are the contrasting statistics to show us that the next generation is "more corrupt" than the previous ones?
This could just mean that we've become much more cynical. Which I think would support pgabriel's assertion that it is based largely on access to information.
Good point. You can find the results of this survey taken circa 1970 -- they are kind of hard to interpret. 55% considered themselves more honest than the average person, while 22% responded "the green one, man, the green one." When asked if they had ever stolen property, 34% responded "are you working for the man, man?" Then you can find a follow-up survey from 1985, where 80% of those surveyed answered "NA" to most questions.
I guess for someone who had felony charges for theft and drug smuggling prior to 1974, I may have skewed my brain a little and we may be on the way up ethically.
Perhaps you feel ethics is declining sharply because the information is more readily available. Europe and the Catholic church was known for excess and waste for a long long time. And before the internet, it was far easier for ministers to swindle people and get away with it because of the lack of information and shame from the victims. Even with the internet, it took quite a time for the Catholic church to admit their hidden private shame. Nations with "traditional cultures" like some Latin American, Middle Eastern and Asian countries still suffer from government corruption and graft, and each nation's prosperity is not the issue. In fact, it could even be justified and publicly condoned if the nation is prosperous. And with satellite TV, we can't bomb Cambodias with impunity and count on a distant country's people to look up to us as the moral paragon of nations. That isn't to say there aren't huge generational shifts from old tradition. An extramarital affair 30 years ago was indeed scandalous (even if elites condoned and encouraged it as a matter of prestige) but the typical household then is dramatically different from now. People divorce more often. Women don't feel as overburdened to sacrifice their personal ambitions for a collective household. I don't disagree that there is a gradual shift from ethics, but the reasons behind it is far more subtle than secularization of norms and values. It's the lack of civility and personal contact in a world that the average human mind can not comprehend in scale and magnitude. We have more comforts but less perceived time. And those comforts come with strings attached such as prestige, diminishing returns, and the extra hours of overtime to make it worth it. And by overburdening ourselves, we cut corners, sacrifice thoughtfulness and meaningfulness just to shave off a few minutes from "routine". We do not stop to take a look at the world around us, and the people (REAL people with flaws) who inhabit them. By doing so, we outsource that time needed to establish relationships with market manufactured proxies such as nannies, non-local banks or online dating services. People used to spend an hour on nightly news. But if news is depressing or not attention grabbing, now we have specialized blogs to satisfy being entertained and being informed...the best of both worlds. So the fourth pillar of democracy is also outsourced, but at least with that extra time saved, we can spend it on waiting outside a store for hours before it opens in order to save a hundred bucks on a big screen high def TV.
IMO our values and ethics have not changed but our priorities have. We are all about looking out for #1. Quite honestly we have to be. We've been brought up in a society obsessed with competition. I remember reading a message board about the LSAT exams and the question was asked if you would sleep with a member of the selection board to get into say Harvard would you do it? Almost everyone said yes, why? Because it's such a life changing event (getting accepted into Harvard Law) they feel it's worth compromising their morals. Quite honestly I don't blame them. This country is based on competition, test scores, athletics, job interviews, celebrity award shows, etc. Do you know why those trashy celeb magazines sell so well? It's because if Britney Spears looks like crap then that makes me look better. We buy them to redicule our heroes so that we can deal with our own jealousy and insecurity. You're not going to lie on your resume to get that great job? Of course you will because you want to provide for your family and make your wife proud. Your morals and ethics aren't paying the bills. Using a little HGH means the difference between the first and seventh round in the NFL draft? Sure your talking millions of dollars on the line. Cheat on the final exam and make the dean's list or don't and get a B? I need that dean's list on my resume if I want that internship. You see we're all going around sizing each other up and deciding we need an edge to beat the competition. Oh and someone mentioned divorce rate. The divorce rate in this country would be about 90% if it wasn't so expensive, time consuming, and confrontational. Let's say getting a divorce was as easy as breaking up with your casual girlfriend and all you had to do was walk away instead of calling a lawyer and dealing with the paperwork. Instantly divorces in this country would soar. It's that buffer that keeps people together. That and kids. If I had a dollar for every couple I knew that only stayed together because of the kids I would be rich.
Huh... I find it telling that this paints a "troubling" portrait of the future...what about the present? The parents that brought those kids up? Why is there no more then a passing mention of them? I mean, just saying...you can pass your debt and your polluted world to future generations, but putting the blame on them is crossing a line somewhere.
Nail on the head!!!!! You win the thread award!!!!!!!!! You have stated well that ethics are not a priority. I think that sums up my feelings. It is more important to succeed, to get what you want, to get ahead, to have money and pleasures than to be ethical. In fact the of whether something is a personal ethic or a personal preference is that an ethic does not change with changing circumstances. Any ethic, whether it be honesty or integrity depends upon being able to stand by them regardless of the situation. It goes back to exactly what you said, how much would you give for a job or an opportunity at Harvard. People don't realize that good intentions and ethics are very far apart. I won't take steroids unless... I won't lie to my parents except.... Everyone lies on their income tax... The difference between good character and poor character is not seen until circumstances can test it. That is what is happening today... the lines are very blurred, especially for young adults. When people judge themselves based upon the perception they have of others it is proof they have poor ethics. Their ethics change with the 'norm' of those around them. People don't think they lie as much as others, they don't think they steal as much as others... All of that is a false perception when the truth is a liar is a liar regardless of the circumstances. Circumstances today are used to justify all types of unethical behavior. Character and Ethics go to the heart of a person, if you are truthful you will not lie on purpose- even if it is to your own personal advantage. An honest person should be truthful even if he has to suffer for it. That is what character is by definition- something that doesn't change every time the wind blows a different direction. I for one see this all the time in churches and it is weird. People tell me they don't report income so they don't have to pay taxes. People tell me they lie at work to keep a good standing with the boss. (for example, one Christian told me he hid a job accident to protect the company safety record and had to lie about it) I don't think America has been some squeeky clean honorable nation at all, but I do believe there was a basic sense of good ethics understood by society in the past that today is not even emphasized. Take school textbooks for example, if you started with the first primers back in the early colonies (the very first textbooks used in public education) they were loaded down with character training, deportment, manners and ethics. If you tracked this through the 18 and 19th century these same elements were emphasized in public schools until right after world war 2. Todays textbooks I have seen in fact de-emphasize basic ethics even stating that there should be situations where good character must be compromised for a greater good. I can't think of one greater good that proper ethics.
