The government to blame for all society's ills? Perish the thought. No they take care of big picture stuff: war, large scale poverty, indoctrination.
Let's look at how the individual contributes to the state of our nation and the notion of our state:
Tagging: "Ya see that lovely old turn of the century building.. and ya see that beaooootiful airbrushed commissioned artwork.. yeah and ya see those people's garden wall. Now ya see that hideous scrawl coverin' it all? I DID THAT." [beams with pride]
Leaving the tap on: there's water restrictions with heavy fines for washing the car or watering the lawn outside certain hours but I'm much too busy/lazy to turn off the tap after washing my hands.
Leaving public toilets in a disgusting state: that Asshole song where Dennis Leary sings "I use public toilets and I piss on the seat" was a satirical swipe, not a call to arms!
Littering: we can only hope that the 'Don't be a tosser' ads start to have an effect. But I have my doubts.
And then there are your crimes proper. I'm sure if you did an evening class in criminal psychology they'd tell you that the crooks bizarrely construct a rationale for their actions; something along the lines of 'they (the victim) had it coming'. There'd be very few people, I'd wager, who would commit acts of bastardry without first justifying it to themselves. It's a way of living with yourself despite how horrible you are.
It's doubtful that an ethical society would support an unethical regime in any case.
Posted by berko_wills
at 1:51 PM EADT
Updated: Friday, 30 January 2004 1:53 PM EADT