How's that for "American manners"?

Blog post by David Brooks today:

"Are new immigrants weakening the social fabric? By one measure they are not. In fact, America seems to be corrupting them. In the journal Addictive Behaviors, Mildred Maldonado-Moline, Jennifer Reingle, Wesley Jennings and Guillermo Prado looked at drunk driving arrests among new immigrants and U.S.-born young adults. Recent immigrants had low DUI arrest rates. Second generation Americans had higher arrest rates than first generation Americans, and third generation had higher rates than the second generation. The same pattern applied to arrests for marijuana use."

I'm just going to let that speak for itself. Seriously, who are the "lazy" "morally lax" "permissive" "complacent" people in this country? Um... I'm pretty sure it's not the recent immigrants who work hard and run strict/relatively traditional households.

This is also an additional reason to find that "Asians in the Library" rant laughable. I mean, as a commentary on social priorities, the title of the video speaks for itself: the Asians are in the flippin' LIBRARY. We should be happy those people are there, focusing on their studies.

(I wonder if this relates to my earlier post on the low status of teachers in this country and how Americans view education...)

Moral beings visit distant shores ... what ensues?

Interesting piece on humanity's moral development through the ages: is it functional and practical? Is it purely based on reason?

If the former, does it include intimations of enlightenment, alongside general moral progress?

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/the-moral-alien/

Wright says that we choose to humanize others at first purely for functional reasons: it allows us to engage in win-win exchanges. But he notes that alongside this kind of development, we also gain at least some small aspect of increased humanity, increased enlightenment. And over time, that evolution leads to more compassion and humanity in and of itself.

P.S. On the path to enlightenment, the practice and action of loving kindness is important. So maybe at first it's only functional and pragmatic -- maybe even self-serving. But over time, especially if we can be aware of it and of ourselves, it becomes something reasoned, something chosen, as peopl understand why we are doing something.

But the action is the first step, and that's good.

Our job is to also take the next steps for moral advancement, as well as having a peaceable society and a planet we want to live on.