I'm new to your group, but this touched me in a very raw spot.  What we sorely lack is the fostering of a sense of responsibility, in everyone, for our actions.  The "ideal" method of dealing with problems, mistakes, etc., in this day, is to point the finger at someone else, deny any wrongdoing and hope to get away with it.  This attitude is being fostered in families, schools, you name it.  And until we accept the responsibility and/or consequences for what we do, are willing to "own up" to our mistakes and make honest efforts to correct whatever the wrongdoing is, we will be hopelessly mired in in a decaying society.  We are theoretically the world's only "super power".  That said, we only have to look back at other societies so enamored with themselves and the same attitude, to see massive failure is the end result:  Rome, Egypt, Germany prior to WWII, East Germany, Russia, etc.  
   
  

"Johnson, Tracy" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
  John Lee says,
> 
> What we sorely lack in the USA are true patriots, those who 
> think of the 
> team first, and personally sacrifice for the good of the team. Our 
> generation has been taught, and we're teaching our kids, that 
> life is all 
> about ourselves, accumulating material wealth ahead of all else, and 
> getting and staying ahead of others. We've become a society 
> where success 
> is a destination rather than a journey. And that's why white 
> collar crime 
> (which is what political corruption is) has become rampant. 
> We're teaching 
> greed. And I think we're teaching it at every level of 
> society...schools, 
> churches, jobs, youth athletics, etc. Until we model 
> something different, 
> we'll continue to be a group of individuals trying to 
> cohabitate rather 
> than the cohesive team that this country was during, for 
> example, WWII.

This has also been thought of elsewhen:

CAPT McKim, USNR said in November, "Here in California I see many
demonstrate their will with bumper stickers on the rear of their monster
SUVs -- 'Support Our Troops,' -- as they talk on cell phones advising
their children to avoid any sacrifices. Today there is no shared
adversity as there was during World War II."

> And I'm becoming convinced that a big step in that direction 
> is to make the 
> estate tax much much higher for those who have accumulated great 
> wealth. They should be forced to return most of it to 
> society (this coming 
> from a Republican!!).
> 
> John Lee

However, they did that with the "Alternative Minimum Tax" in 1969 which
was designed to tax those with "great wealth". Thanks to 36 years of
inflation, this "great wealth" tax has now hit the middle class. I
would expect the same to occur with a similar estate tax in a not too
distant Huxleyan future.

(Alternatively, an overreaching government will find a way to tax rich
people no matter what the method or who's in charge. It depends how
strongly a government wants the money.)

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