Hi David B. and Group:
Sometimes it happens that a current article in the press almost eerily
relates to one of our ongoing discussions. Such is the case with the
AP report below entitled, �People Feel Loss of Morality� that
appeared in today�s paper.
In a recent exchange with David B. I pointed to the defect in the
intellect that Pirsig describes in Lila and included the following
quote:
�In the time that Phaedrus grew up, intellect was dominant over
society, but the results of the new social looseness weren�t turning
out as predicted. Something was wrong. The world was no doubt in
better shape intellectually and technologically, but despite that, some
the �quality� of it was not good. There was no way you could say
which this quality was no good. You just felt it.� (Lila, Chp. 22)
If one is looking for ways to support the validity of the MOQ
and Pirsig�s doubts about the dominance of intellect, the following
article may be introduced as evidence:
POLL: PEOPLE FEEL LOSS OF MORALITY
By Will Lester, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) � Accompanying the hum of computers and
the roar of the economy at the end of the 20th century is a nagging
feeling among many Americans that something has been lost. They
describe it in various ways: an absence of morality, a loss of
innocence, a lack of trust in others.
Almost two-thirds of the people in a new poll say their families' lives
have improved since the 1950s. But fewer than half say the country
as a whole is better off now and nearly one-third say it is worse.
``There's more money, but less human caring,'' said Wayne
Dubrawsky, a government worker from Orchard Park, N.Y. Added
Ralph Mittelstaedt, a retired Nebraska farmer: ``Life may have gotten
better, but people haven't gotten better, especially the kids.''
The poll, by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press,
looked at how Americans feel about changes that have occurred
over the past 100 years. When asked to name the reasons for
personal betterment, four out of 10 cited the strong economy and
one out of six pointed to advances in technology and modern
conveniences. ``Life in this country has gotten better,'' said
Charlene Bridges, of North Augusta, S.C., visiting Washington
recently with her grandchildren. She cites higher salaries, ``the
World Wide Web and the spread of knowledge and information.''
As for key factors in America's progress, they cite the Constitution,
free enterprise and free elections. People think the American way,
politically and economically, is a remarkable achievement and it
does work,'' said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research
Center. But, he added, the poll indicates ``technological and
material success is undercut by the sense that somehow we have
lost our way morally.''
Optimism extended to nearly all parts of society, but women, blacks
and people with disabilities are among those who have gained the
most, according to those polled. More than four out of five said the
people in those categories are better off than they were in the
1950s, and the movements for civil rights and women's rights were
widely viewed as two of the most positive social developments of the
century. ``There's not as much racism,'' said Charles Caldwell, a 17-
year-old street vendor on the Mall in Washington. ``Everybody's
getting their share of the American pie.'' Mack Arthur Brown, a 52-
year-old retired schoolteacher from DeKalb, Miss., remembers what
it was like for blacks when he was growing up 50 years ago, with
segregated bathrooms, schools and restaurants in parts of the
country. ``Integration came in and things have gotten a lot better for
blacks in America,'' he said. ``We're able to go where we want to go
now, without any problems.''
But there was also widespread agreement that farmers and teen-
agers were not as well off as they were a half-century ago. The poll
of 1,546 adults was taken from April 6 to May 6. The school
shootings in Littleton, Colo. occurred during that period, when
almost two-thirds of the interviews had been completed. The margin
of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points. While the Littleton
shootings did not change the overall findings of the poll, they
increased the numbers that thought life was worse for teens, from
52 percent before to 61 percent just after. And the number who
thought life is worse in the country in general jumped from 25
percent before to 36 percent afterward.
Roseland Jones, a 61-year-old homemaker from Plainville, Ill.,
questioned whether the computer and the Internet are offering
children as healthy an outlet as the pastimes of the 1950s.
``Computers probably help, but what are the children learning now?''
she asked. ``Are they learning to socialize with other people? Are
they going to dances? Are they going to church? ``The lifestyle is
too fast. Parents don't have time for their children and you can't trust
anybody.'' Other changes that were viewed less positively included:
�Two-thirds said increased use of credit cards is a bad trend.
�Just over half decried the onset of rap music. �About half were
concerned about the growing ease of divorce.
Platt
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