The decline in moral standards—which has long
concerned social analysts—has at last captured the attention of average
Americans. And Jean Bethke Elshtain, for one, is glad.
The fact
that the ordinary citizens are now starting to think seriously about the
nation’s moral climate, says this ethics (伦理学) professor at the University of
Chicago, is reason to hope that new ideas will come forward to improve
it.
But the challenge is not to be underestimated. Materialism
and individualism in American society are the biggest obstacles. "The thought
that ’I’m in it for me’ has become deeply rooted in the national consciousness,"
Ms. Elshtain says.
Some of this can be attributed to the
disintegration (瓦解，崩溃) of traditional communities, in which neighbors looked out
for one another, she says. With today’s greater mobility and with so many
couples working, those bonds have been weakened, replaced by a greater emphasis
on self.
In a 1996 poll of Americans, loss of morality topped
the list of the biggest problems facing the U.S. and Elshtain says the public is
correct to sense that. Data show that Americans are struggling with problems
unheard of in the 1950s, such as classroom violence and a high rate of births to
unmarried mothers.
The desire for a higher moral standard is
not a lament (挽歌) for some nonexistent "golden age," Elshtain says, "nor is it a
wishful (一厢情愿的) longing for a time that denied opportunities to women and
minorities. Most people, in fact, favor the lessening of prejudice."
Moral decline will not be reversed until people find ways to counter the
materialism in society, she says. "Slowly, you recognize that the things that
matter are those that can’t be bought."According to Elshtain, the current moral decline may be reversed
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