Cheating on rise as American morals decline
Robert Bell and Caitlin Street, Staff Writers
Issue date: 2/17/06 Section: News
- Page 1 of 4 next >
The current morality of many people in the United States regarding honesty, integrity and values is in serious decline, said David Callahan, author of "The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead."
Callahan spoke to students and faculty at the Reynold's Center Wednesday. He cited several examples of everyday dishonesty.
Studies show that two-thirds to three-quarters of high school students admit to some cheating, he said. Employee theft accounts for losses of more than $60 billion each year, while dollars lost to tax evasion totals are roughly equal to the U.S. gross domestic product.
"I guess what surprised me as I dug into this dark side of American life, is that a lot of the people who were cutting corners to get ahead academically, professionally and financially, these are normal people," he said. "This is not some kind of 'them' problem, this is an 'us' problem."
Many of the people who would cheat on their taxes are not the kind of people who would even think of stealing so much as a candy bar from a convenience store, he said.
One reason for this sort of contradiction is that many people are going through life with two separate moral compasses,
Callahan said. The first compass dictates decisions people make regarding sex, drugs, violence or drunk driving. The second compass guides behavior when it comes to getting ahead in school, work or money matters, he said. The second compass has developed because America has changed in the last few decades, Callahan said.
"When it comes to money and success, we have become more cut throat," he said. "It's more of a dog-eat-dog society."
There are several temptations that people in the "cheating culture" succumb to get ahead, Callahan said. The first reason is that there is a vast income gap today in America that didn't exist decades ago, he said.
Pay for people at the top of the corporate world is so much more than for those at the bottom that the natural persuasion is to do whatever it takes to make more money, he said.
Callahan spoke to students and faculty at the Reynold's Center Wednesday. He cited several examples of everyday dishonesty.
Studies show that two-thirds to three-quarters of high school students admit to some cheating, he said. Employee theft accounts for losses of more than $60 billion each year, while dollars lost to tax evasion totals are roughly equal to the U.S. gross domestic product.
"I guess what surprised me as I dug into this dark side of American life, is that a lot of the people who were cutting corners to get ahead academically, professionally and financially, these are normal people," he said. "This is not some kind of 'them' problem, this is an 'us' problem."
Many of the people who would cheat on their taxes are not the kind of people who would even think of stealing so much as a candy bar from a convenience store, he said.
One reason for this sort of contradiction is that many people are going through life with two separate moral compasses,
Callahan said. The first compass dictates decisions people make regarding sex, drugs, violence or drunk driving. The second compass guides behavior when it comes to getting ahead in school, work or money matters, he said. The second compass has developed because America has changed in the last few decades, Callahan said.
"When it comes to money and success, we have become more cut throat," he said. "It's more of a dog-eat-dog society."
There are several temptations that people in the "cheating culture" succumb to get ahead, Callahan said. The first reason is that there is a vast income gap today in America that didn't exist decades ago, he said.
Pay for people at the top of the corporate world is so much more than for those at the bottom that the natural persuasion is to do whatever it takes to make more money, he said.
