Both John and Judy made some intriguing (and resonant) comments. The "Me
First" generation is sadly my generation - and many of yours - the Baby
Boomers. Was it an excess of materialism from our parents? I remember
something Mother Teresa said about the West - that materially they are rich
but spiritually they are poor".

I don't believe everyone has a "me first" mentality - I know they don't. 
Just enough to be noticible. And that is why the term "Yuppie" has such a 
negative connotation. Young people for whom nice cars and houses are their 
gods. And flaunting it. Long work days while ignoring their children. If 
they have any.

I was among the last to be drafted in the Army - in September 1972. I had a
college deferment that kept me out since 1968. In retrospect I think it was
wrong - either all in society should have shared equally or none. Once in I 
saw in my platoon in basic training a real cross section of America - 
everyone from guys off Indian reservations to one kid from Beverly Hills - 
kids from slums - many middle class people. Who all had to work together.

WW2 was really the only true societal equalizer - one could actually buy
one's way out of service  in the Civil War (at least the Union side).

I think the "me first" attitude has spread. I revisited Germany in 1992 and
saw the equivalent of a German "Yuppie" - 20 something's driving Mercedes S
Classes.

I don't believe however in raising the estate tax even more - the problem is
spiritual - not material. Why should someone who has paid taxes all their
lives acquiring what they leave suffer the final indignity of having much of
that taken away?

When the owner of the Miami Dolphins died his son had to sell the team to
pay the taxes.

I have thought a lot over the years about what Judy has said - the
propensity to blame others for whatever befalls you. Perhaps it is human
nature (to be sure) but having lawyers advertise on TV about suing others to
uphold "your rights" certainly hasn't helped ;-)

Look at the tobacco issue: Is there anyone who isn't aware that tobacco can
cause cancer? And yet they sue the tobacco companies. The politicians -
rather than outlawing it - see a revenue opportunity and benefit from both
sides.

Bill

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.

And I'm becoming convinced that a big step in that direction is to make the
estate tax 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

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