Re: THE TOP 10 MOST DANGEROUS U.S. CITIES REPORT :

In article <skpde2hdjit637jhkb85lshviq7u756qh0@xxxxxxx>, Don Foreman says...

Self-indulgence, greed and dodging responsibility have certainly
become widely accepted values for many Americans -- but it is still
clear that we don't tolerate abuse or domination well. We rail at
corporate greed and abuse, and abuses of power and dishonesty of
political leaders we've elected. ...

First off I would say that american politics has always been a
free-for-all. There have always been the cliffs and gunners
throwing everyhing, including the kitchen sink, at each other
during political discussions. That's the nature of the beast, it
was *designed* that way. From the outset. <g>

But I understand what makes you say the first part, that those
undesireable values of greed and irresponsibility are more
present now than before. Those characteristics certainly do get
a lot of press, they sell a lot of air time and newspapers.

But from where I sit, in the cheap seats in peekskill, the story's
a bit different. The city's quite racially mixed, but the common
theme is, hard working folks can better themselves. The guy who
runs the mechanic business across the street works 6 days a week.
He's started before I get up, he's still working when I get home.

The neighbor up on the corner is an immigrant - he's bought a house,
and is raising a family.

You basically can't find a spot in the city where folks have let their
place go to pot - sure there are poorer sections but as far as I
can tell, those houses are kept up *nicer* than most. Mostly they
have nice cars in the driveways and those cars are all gone by
about 8am during the week, and they show up again around 6.

I keep searching, in vain, for the folks who are greedy and self
indulgent, the folks who are irresponsible. It wasn't the three
folks who showed up on the doorstep last month, campaigning for
office. They didn't like the way Sue Kelly was running things,
so they decided to be responsible and do it better. The hard way,
door to door.

The greed issue is tougher, I guess there's some greed. It's a fine
line between greed and being out to better one's self. Of course
the line's clear but I can undestand (if not approve) of folks
running close to that line. There's been a lot of discussion of
this GINI index and I suppose that's an example of greed that does
permeate our society. That happens in part because folks let it,
though.

I will continute to inspect my local environs for evidence that
americans just aren't what they used to be, and will report
back if I find any.

Jim


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