One of the values considered important in my family was never to cheat--not in school or work, not on your taxes and not in a relationship. It would seem this life lesson has become archaic.
CEOs have thought nothing of destroying a company as long as their pockets were lined; too many politicians are corrupt, and infidelity is rampant. The legacy is that our children have few models in our society, and even at home, for honesty and integrity. As a result they think nothing of cheating, and many have been doing so since elementary school. Some even take pride in having cheated their way through school, reveling in the stories of their creativity or the teacher’s stupidity.
Cheating crosses all boundaries too. It’s not just the “losers” who try to take the easy way out. Now, it’s the “good” students too who cheat rather than risk failing. There have been examples of National Honor Society officers and top 12 students who have stolen tests and plagiarized papers. And believe me; it’s tough to talk to number 13, who didn’t cheat, about why life is not fair.
The legacy of so many kids cheating most of the time, besides the obvious moral problem, is the epidemic on the college level of kids flunking out—now in astronomical numbers. They already begin college with knowing far less and because they are not accustomed to studying or working hard, they can’t make it.
The ramifications for our country are terrifying. How will these kids contribute to society? How, like generations before them, will they move us forward? How will they help us to compete on the international level? The United States was once the number one educational system in the world. Today, we are 24th and dropping.
The effects of no moral compass and diminishing work ethic will be our country's demise. We must tackle this problem or our heyday as the leader of the free world is over.
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