Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Coming Apart by Charles Murray

Well, Murray's main points have more to do with upholding certain virtues as the leaders of America, but... yeah, I think the part about how he expects us to abandon some of the PC stuff will be the hardest hurdle.

If you hang around the new upper class, there is no way to even easily explain it to your peers if you suddenly start making statements that sound (to them) more self-righteous. They'll likely just think that you've turned into a jerk if you start deciding some ways of acting or living ARE better than some other ways.

Although, they will completely accept it if you want to sound a tad self-righteous about good clean organic food, microbrewery beer vs inferior bud, green living, and possibly some natural parenting principles... ha! At least I am one person who has no problem preaching what I practice, in this regard.

I think the NUC is setting a great example by adopting green behaviors and looking for clean food. Those choices will filter down into the masses and will benefit everyone. Organic food is even now more widely available and cheaper than it has ever been and green living is getting talked about more and more. Better nutrition means healthier and smarter children in all social classes. That is a good start in my opinion.

So are we supposed to broach the topic of marriage? Or at least admit to ourselves the truth about the class divide, as Murray sees it?

Is the hardest part actually accepting that if we (well the NUC, anyway) are in power, we need to admit our advantage and power and actually accept the responsibility of doing the right things with it? Because right now the NUC isn't handling their power very wisely. They don't really try to set a good example and they don't have a "moral" code to live by, except for that weak "be nice" one...

Saying all choices are equal is a really weak excuse for the NUC to basically do whatever they want, take what they want, show what they want in the media, do things that seem obscene to regular people (like take millions of dollars in pay and build giant homes) and then just say "Everyone needs to live and let live and that's it."

Yet, they do have a true responsibility to set some sort of example and to try and understand the rest of the people in America who are affected by their choices.