June 19, 2001

8:32 AM

On Americans and their Morals.A look at the demise of morality in America and our history as a country and a culture to always complain that our moral fabric is worse than it really is.
posted by Brilliantcrank (5 comments total)

People were whining about declining morals (and explosive crime rates) as far back as Ancient Egypt... and humanity goes on.
posted by Foosnark at 9:29 AM on June 19, 2001

Humanity does go on. Though it's interesting to note that no matter how bad things seem now, according to this line of thought, we'll be reminiscing about today in a good-old-days kind of way in a few years from now.

I think that Icarus graphic with the article is super cheesy (and maybe a little out of place).
posted by amyscoop at 10:02 AM on June 19, 2001

Front-page "news" is often like this article: the results of what average poll respondents think is true, rather than what is true.

Is it true that there has been a decline in moral values (whatever that is)? That's not what the article says; it says that polls indicate that people (average Joes who are unqualified to judge such a thing) think there has been such a change.

It would be different if the polls showed that poll respondents themselves now hold views that could fairly be considered less moral than those of people who responded to previous studies. But the poll shows only that people think other people hold less moral views than they used to.

"According to a Gallup poll, Americans say the nation's biggest problem is kids these days. "
posted by pracowity at 10:16 AM on June 19, 2001

When America's morals finally hit bottom, I'll be down here waiting. I've done a great deal of sin speculation in the meanwhile - when they get here, they'll have to come to me for the best bits of real estate.

It's nice to be an early adapter.
posted by Perigee at 11:30 PM on June 19, 2001

Not that I consider myself some sort of expert on the subject, but I am often amused when I hear or read of Americans grumbling about how gawdawful things are in the States, whether it be about people's morals or the treatment of women, racism, or the disproportionate number of incarcerated minorities (more racism).

Of course, there is nothing at all humorous in the problems. What gives me a chuckle is our collective pessimism about ourselves. No people seem so down on themselves and their country as Americans do. I think it comes largely from an ignorance of how cruddy things are in most other countries. But this is good...sort of. So long as we remain disgruntled about our society there will be an impetus to change things. It beats self-satisfied complacency, anyway.

Or is my logic all funky here? Okay, nevermind...
posted by Bixby23 at 3:18 AM on June 20, 2001