By nature, I am a calm guy. But don’t you just wonder about things like the Siemens scandal, Bernard Madoff, Tom Petters and even Governor Rod “Don’t Touch My Hair” Blagojevich.
My point I tried to make over at US NEWS today is that this sort of thing has happened before, maybe not as outrageous, but it is not new….this outlandish greed program and acting all above the law crap,… it’s been happening for a long time, even before teapot had a dome.
How do we as a society fix it or do we?
The first thing to do, I suggest, is punish them fast and aggressively. Yeah, they are innocent until proven guilty. But just maybe we should teach some important lessons here, Is branding illegal? I am thinking a big G…for greed…right on their forehead. Except for the Guv: Give him a crew cut with a G in his hairline, forever.
After the punishment phase is over…what can we do to make sure this does not happen even more in the future? (read the USNEWS piece, too)
(hat tip: Toby at Diggings)
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For me the issue is the thinking/psychology/motivation behind the behavior. The world is rife with this type of behavior. Maybe the issue isn’t why there is so many negative examples but rather why there are so few. Why are the honest people honest when they can be cheaters, why do so few people steal when so many could.
Where did these people’s moral compasses go off course and why. Madoff was a pillar of the financial community and a huge philanthropist. I am sure he is loved by his family and esteemed by his friends and colleagues. Yet he perpetrated a costly (financial and personal) fraud over many years. What was he thinking. Each of these people should be required to undergo a psychological and moral review – preferably on 60 minutes and under oath.
By the way, I am not suggesting any of these “gentlemen” escape serious consequences although I am fairly sure their punishment will be no deterrent to others currently committing or contemplating the same behavior.
May I sound off? For decades, we’ve pushed religion out of the public square, failed to educate our young on the basics of Western culture and American history, and promoted an “anything goes” morality. Now we wonder why we can’t turn around without bumping into a horrifying scandal? OK, I feel better now.
Eric and Brad: You both do me an honor by your thoughtful comments even if, in Brad’s case, he thought of himself as venting. Good points.
So here in Nor Cal the words “firing squad” have been bantied about pretty recklessly. How can you be a “philanthropist” when you are giving away other people’s money without their consent? How can people “vouch” for the bloviated creep? Because he gave THEM other people’s money and they are ‘friends’. This man needs to be put away for GOOD. 50 Billion with a B. This is no longer white-collar crime. I guarantee you that people may take their own lives over this, but it won’t be the guilty party, unfortunately. Hook him up with O.J. in Nevada.
Hey, Mad. Nor Cal, huh? Me, too. Hayward.
And your term of “bloviated creep” is probably the perfect one for this sociopath.
The decentralized democratic forum of the blogosphere isn’t a bad place to start the social turn around. When the responsible citizens who are working for the support and furtherment – I think I just made that word up – of their fellow man speak out and communicate with one another, that’s a start. The problem with most bad societies starts with silent citizens.
Brad…someone sent me this morning and I thought of your comment above:
The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.
My confession:
I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees.. I don’t feel threatened. I don’t feel discriminated against. That’s what they are: Christmas trees.
It doesn’t bother me a bit when people say, ‘Merry Christmas’ to me. I don’t think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it It shows that we are all brothers and sisters
celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn’t bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a creche, it’s just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.
I don’t like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don’t think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can’t find it in the Constitution and I don’t like it being shoved down my throat.
Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren’t allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that’s a sign that I’m getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to..
In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it’s not funny, it’s intended to get you thinking.
Billy Graham’s daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her ‘How could God let something like this happen?’ (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, ‘I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we’ve been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?’
In light of recent events… terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O’Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn’t want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.
Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn’t spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr Spock’s son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he’s talking about. And we said OK.
Now we’re asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don’t know right from wrong, and why it doesn’t bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with ‘WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.’
Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world’s going to hell Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send ‘jokes’ through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.
Are you laughing yet?
Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you’re not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.
Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us. Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it… no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don’t sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.
My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,
Ben Stein
Well said Mr. Stein.
Well said.
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