Our Declining Values

This post was inspired by something I read on Saurkraut's blog. The post that inspired this was not about DeBeers and the diamond cartel, it was related to another post about vultures trying to steal business clients. Or something like that. Anyway, here it goes.

I just ordered Jimmy Carter's new book titled "Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis". Carter wrote this book from his viewpoint as a Christian, just not as an evangelical / fundamental christian. He gives his views about the "moral crisis" in America, from a viewpoint that I simply do not have. After watching Carter's interview on the Larry King Show, and hearing comments Carter has made on other media outlets, I think that I will find myself in agreement with the heart of his book. Religous fundamentalism has taken over the right wing of American politics.

But Mr. Carter will miss the point. What is the root cause of America's moral decay? Both the left AND the right blame the same things, with only some differences in the two. They blame TV shows. They blame fart noises on the Howard Stern Show. They blame bad words in movies. They blame rap music. They blame violent video games. The right branches off and blames feminism and gay rights, while the left branches off and blames "intolerance".

But are ANY of the above the cause, or the symptom?

Rap music is NOT the cause of America's moral decline. Rap music did not destroy the family unit. Neither did drugs, or fart noises, or anything else that our leaders pontificate about for hours on end.

So what did it? What is the cause of America's moral crisis? CAPITALISM. Our system of economics is doing us all in. Rap music, and all the other "causes" that both the left and right blame problems on are just window dressing, mere symptoms of the cause.

So how can I say this? Well, because it is the truth. Lets take rap music for example. How do the rap artists show they are successful? With tricked out $100,000 trucks, private jets, way too much gold, "iced out" everything, huge homes, and so on.

And it is not just rappers that do this. Business men do it too, only they have different status symbols. Expensive bottles of wine, membership to the "exclusive" country club, and so on.

Capitalist nations thrive on money. Those who have it, get cool stuff. Those who do not have money are left out of the loop.

How did this kill the family unit? Simple. How many single income homes do you know of? I can not think of a single person in my age group that lives in a single income home. EVERYONE has to work. A single income can not possibly pay for housing, food, cars, insurance, utilities, cable TV bills, and so on.

For a long time now, couples starting new families could not rely on a single income. Both parents HAD TO work. And yes, they HAD TO work. Our economic system demands that EVERYONE produce so that they can consume and keep the engine running. And with both parents working, who looks after the kids?

And for that matter, who can afford kids? The economic realities of having kids places a lot of stress on a relationship. The kind of stress that can lead to divorce.

People, in order to feel successful, neglect to save in order to buy a new BMW and leather furnature. They buy houses that they really can not afford. They have to pay for cable TV so they can distract themselvs when they get home. Family obligations take a backseat to making money. Should you work overtime or go to that parent-teacher confrence? Most of the time, overtime wins. After all, you "need" that money.

America's values revolve around money - and nothing but money. Religion is not the basis for ANY morality in America anymore - and it has not been for some time now. There are NO ETHICS in business, other than the ethics of making money at any and all costs. The only reason why companies no longer dump toxic waste into rivers is because the EPA will fine them if they do. Left up to business, the oceans of the planet would glow with orange light at night.

Money is the end all of everything that is good and holy in America. And the ends justify the means. Whatever you do to get this money is fair game - after all you can always hire a good lawyer and get away with it. Family values, religion, God, prayer in schools - none of that crap means anything once compated to MONEY. The color of the world is green, and not because of the plants.

The moral decay will not reverse itself as long as money is the core of our value system. We can pass a law banning rap music, and nothing will chance. We can pass laws making daily prayer compulsary, and nothing will change. We can force everyone to read the bible and go to church at least three times a week and nothing will change. The FCC can ban all the fart noises that it wants to, and nothing will change.

Long ago, America decided to let business and "the market" set the course for our national morality. And look at where we are now. There are no ethics in business, there are no ethics in "the market", and now we are all wondering why there are no ethics in society.

America, and for this matter EVERY western nation facing similar problems, has allowed money to write ethics.

Any right winger has tuned out of this post long ago. After all, attacking capitalism is un-american! Why, capitalism has made this nation great! Everything we have is due to capitalism!

And this is exactly my point. Everything we have IS due to capitalism. Everything from the electric can openers, to the laptop computer I am writing this post with - is due to capitalism.

But so are darker things. The division of wealth. The gap between the rich and the poor. Money being the sole guage of success. Over-consumption. Money over ethics. Money over family. The decline of the family unit. Divorce. Children raised by after school programs. Parents unable to provide moral guidance - because they are blinded by the money they strive to hard to get. Should you lie to get a raise?

Nobody will ever say these things, because to do so in America brings the wrath of business down upon you. People call you "communist" or "marxist", and try to discredit what you say by adding the word "liberal" or "too lazy to work".

So I ask you to take a look around. Take a HARD look around. Be objective. Are terrible TV shows really causing all the problems? Is rap music really causing all the crime, or is the crime caused by the value placed on money and the things it can buy?

If you think about it, you will come to the same conclusion I have arrived at. The root cause of moral decay is our economic system.