Youthful Delusions

An Ethics of Delusion. While it describes the CEO and management ethics we saw when representatives of Detroit's Big Three and other institutions seeking bailouts testified before Congress, it also illustrates the ethics of America's youth.

According to the results of a survey conducted by the Josephson Institute, a Los Angeles based ethics institute, more than a third of male students admitted to stealing (35%) from a store in the past year, matched by slightly more than a quarter of girls (26%). About ten percent fewer of each group also admitted to stealing from a friend (26% of boys and 14% of girls). Great.

Sixty four percent of the 29,760 students surveyed, from 100 public and private schools nationwide selected at random, admitted to cheating on a test. More than 30% acknowledged plagiarizing work from the Internet. More than 80% lied to their parents about "something significant," in the last year.

So, we're raising a nation of liers, cheaters and thieves. What's ironic about this is that 93% of the students surveyed said they were comfortable with their character and satisfied with their personal ethics. What's more, 77% confirmed that, "when it comes to doing what is right, I am better than most people I know."

Perhaps the 77% are among the majority that do not admit to stealing from friends, but the math doesn't work out as well when it comes to the 64% that cheat or the 83% that lie. Delusions of ethical behavior plague our society from the top down and from the bottom up.

The question remains: What are we going to do about it? If we continue to permissively dismiss the ills done at the top and financially reward such misbehavior, we will continue to send a message to younger generations that it's perfectly acceptable for them to be satisfied with their personal ethics and character despite their moral shortcomings and selfish motives.