The third millennium has brought with it a new paradigm in society morals, one which, quite frankly, I can live without. Is it just me that sees the steady decay in society morals, particularly with our youth? My principal concern is where we are heading as a nation, as a country, as a people. As a former teacher of high school mathematics, I got an inside peek into the world of adolescence and the attitudes carried by such breed. It pained me on a daily basis to see what motivated and drove students.

Maybe I am different in that I was born with a propensity for philosophy (the word which, from its two Greek roots, means "love of knowledge") and the good which comes from its pursuit. However, it cannot be that I am wired so radically different from these adolescents. After all, we are all from the same species. Do the current norms of society affect our predispositions so much that we as a race of people can actually seem as though we are different species?

What ever happened to the day of the Good Samaritan? Today, he is practically ostracized as a leper. Moreover, what is fueling this steady decay in morals that is bringing our nation's potential forward progress to a screeching halt? Well, I remember hearing a very memorable sermon many years ago and the import of the message stuck with me forever. One does not have to meditate too long to find the root cause of such decay. I propose that selfishness is the root cause, the root of all sin, the root of all evil; and whether you are a believer or not, you can hardly argue with this point. Never was a sin deliberately committed via an action of unselfish motives. Take a quick example.

I witnessed a scene the other night when I was filling my car with gas. A heated quarrel broke out between a twenty-something irate customer and the gas attendant. As I came on the scene after the quarrel had already erupted, I could only conjecture as to the cause of such brouhaha. The language that was being spewed at the attendant was vulgar and offensive"of course, nothing unusual for the deviant societal norms of today. Fisticuffs were imminent and I was deciding whether I would intervene and try to bring peace to the situation. Fortunately, after much ado, the aggressor left. As the attendant was handing me back my credit card, I asked what the cause of such ruckus was. He replied that in filling the customer's tank a few drops of gasoline got on the car. After both he and his associate apologized for the mishap, the customer erupted into all kinds of offensive and hostile language.

Let us now examine this situation a little more carefully and see whether we can determine the root cause of such pandemonium. The customer took umbrage at the spillage of gasoline on his car. An honest mistake. What could the gas attendant do in such a situation but apologize. However, the customer's selfishness in not getting the preconceived level of service that he was worthy of, caused him to fly into an unbridled rage and begin denouncing, in the strongest words possible, the attendant and his comrades. It should be added that, since the attendants were not American, quite a few racial epithets were thrown out as well. Had the customer taken the unselfish position that 1) this attendant is working hard on this cold night and accidentally got a few drops of gasoline on my car; and 2) such a mistake has not injured me or my car in any way; then this scene could have, and by all means, should have been avoided. What a waste of useless energy!

Yes sir, no sir, thank you ma'am, are a dying breed of interpersonal communications. The "me first" generation is wreaking havoc with our societal structure, undermining the very essence of survival. We need to have a louder voice in speaking out against these vices if we are to survive as a species. Boy scouts, girl scouts, cub scouts, where is this breed? The Good Samaritan needs to return and I will be the first to promulgate this issue. I am sick and tired of watching morals decay to the point of no return.

Stay tuned for more on this most important issue.