What's a writer to do? Blogging is extremely time consuming and if you are saying anything worth reading, there is a lot of research, editing and rewriting necessary before you can actually publish something substantial. It is not the kind of product that can easily be produced while you are also trying to hold down a full time job and also have a personal life. At any rate, writers need to make a living too.
But I digress........
I recently learned that even our animal friends are pawns in the great sell out. Someone I know wanted to certify their sweet and very personable dog as a volunteer therapy pet for hospitals and nursing homes, but were told that one of the requirements was that the dog needed to be feed a less than healthy diet (no raw meat) and preferably fed the brand of their major sponsor—a pet food manufacturer. Nice......
It is getting to the point where, in order to do the things one really wants to do, a large majority of people are willing to compromise their standards, jump through whatever hoops are necessary and most of the time, "sell out."
Integrity has become more like an ancient, arcane, philosophical belief instead of standard practices and so, has largely been abandoned.
Beyond all that though, the ultimate sell out is how beholden the elected officials of this country are to major contributors to their campaigns. But that barely scratches the surface.
Then there are the lobbyists.....
Lobbyists are the middlemen between the public servant and his/her deep-pocketed benefactor. The lobbyists are keeping a close eye on the day-to-day activities of the Congress and more significantly the Senate. They then report back to their bosses, the money bags who control the entire career of the elected official. The Senators know, that if they play their cards the way they are told, they will retire a very wealthy person. Money trumps everything.
We elected our "representatives" as public servants, to protect our interests, paid for by tax dollars taken from our paychecks every week. But, clean the grime off of your rose colored glasses because most of them are only looking out for their own bank accounts.
When I first came to NYC, I overheard a conversation among a group of teenagers on the subway. One teen said to the others, "I think killing somebody is wrong, unless you're getting paid for it." This story is absolutely true.
The definition of integrity: adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.
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