Over the past three decades, has America become a nation of

[Veggie Meathead]

con men?In my opinion, this may be a survival mechanism for most of us.In this society which is dog-eat-dog being a con man is a quick way to get a bigger share of the pie than you deserve.Look at many of Bush's appointees.Many of them have diplomas from internet diploma mills!Andersen and Co. makes up financial statements to keep stock prices up.Many companies simply make up profits out of whole cloth.Halliburton bribes foreign officials,gets no bid contracts and yet keeps being treated as a legitimate corporation.Our newspapers are loaded with "journalists" who make up stories.Our Tv newspeople are mostly airheads who have no sense of history or geography.Our politicians are rubberstamps who will do and say whatever the biggest donor wants them to do and say.

In this atmopshere is it possible for people who want to live by old fashioned ethical values to survive,let alone prosper?

I think the distressingly high level of support Bush enjoys in the public opinion poll may actually reflect most people's realization that unless Bush keeps lying and pulling hoaxes he cannot survive.

[JSJ]

1. i don't know, but drug laws have made many of us more furtive n/t

[mhr]

2. Yes, America Has Become One Big Con

This is quite ironic when the right-wing continually decries the lack of moral clarity all the while stealing from Americans via preferred corporate contracts, ultra-wealthy tax benefits, disenfranchising the underclass, etc.

One wonders how the right-wing keeps a straight face as they try to teach their kids to be crooks while pretending to be virtuous.

[xocolatl]

3. I don't think that's exactly the problem...

Life has been difficult everywhere for all of history. Life is about struggle. Through the animal kingdom down to the microscopic level, and indeed even among plants, organisms must fight to survive. "Con-men" are simply adopting a survival strategy, albeit a selfish and short-sighted strategy.

The real problem is that life has become to easy for Americans. We consume a disproportionate fraction of the world's resources, because we can, and now people expect to be prosperous. So much so that we are willing to forsake all other things in order to obtain material wealth.

Indeed, conservatives are correct that we have lost touch with our values. We have forgotten that the Golden Rule is also a survival strategy, that when we treat our neighbors with respect, we can expect respect back from our neighbors.

History repeats itself. The Romans became fat, lazy and corrupt. Then their society collapsed.

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

4. Wonder if it might have to do with the division of wealth in the past 20

years? It seems like when there was a chance to go from rags to riches, there were more people who earned their money. Now it seems like it's riches-to-riches and these privileged people don't understand how to honestly earn their money, they just figure out how to con the rags-to-rags people.