And the omnipresent question, is it worse than usual or, thanks to tv, internet and the like, just reported more? And does the mass of information hitting people every day help the shadow culture grow?

There's a theory that one of the necessary elements leading to major social/political change (revolution) is that very clear lines of "fracture" need to be develop around competing values, ideas and beliefs. The old "them" and "us" idea. As more and more people identify more and more strongly with a particular ideology, the possibility of trouble grows. (The "nice" thing about a war is that it tends to blur the internal lines of fracture by providing an external enemy to focus on.)

Pre WWI, as I remember, was a time when the old aristocratic class system was giving way, and the middle class was expanding. Today in the US, the middle class, is shrinking, there is a growing lower class and the concentration of wealth into fewer and fewer hands is on the rise. What better way to divide than into "have" and "have-nots". I'm not advocating any particular solution but it is a significant trend in our society. You and I (fine, noble altruists that we are) aren't concerned with such crass materialism. Many (to many?) of our fellow citizens are. A recession would only make the gap more apparent.

Even in my city (90,000), rudeness seems to be on the rise in the malls and on the road. People don't want diverse communities so more and more gated communities spring up everyday. Private schooling and home schooling cater (in part) to the same thing. The vision for future development is to turn the county into a wall-to-wall country club community. ( a serious proposal to the local Planning Board, btw). I guess those of us who don't make $100k plus a year can live in the neighboring counties.

A few other examples come to mind: (depending on your political/social beliefs). Louis Farrakan and the politics of hate, various state successionist movements, Ruby Ridge and Waco, textbooks sacrifcing accuracy to appease one pressure group or another (in the name of political correctness). Or just to "dumb down" the texts so it isn't as hard.

Now I'm depressed.

Regards,

John