I think the attitude, if you can get away with it just do it, is becoming more common and is likely only to become more so.

Young people are realising that if this is just a materialistic universe (as seems to be the prevailing worldview in much of the west), then morality has no objective basis. At most, all there is is law. So you don't have to worry about the little niceties of life, just look out for yourself.

I expanded on this in an OLO article: http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=7544

Dear JP,

«I think the attitude, if you can get away with it just do it, is becoming more common»

I cannot trust myself with hand on heart that I could avoid this attitude on my own, so thankfully I was graced with the insight that there is no way that I could ever get away with "it" (and I'm not referring to police and similar human institutions), that it is just not possible.

While the veracity of one's theology can be disputed, hardly anyone would dispute the fact that it is commonly the only thing standing between oneself and the animal-dictates of one's body.

It only takes one or two self absorbed mongrel bar stewards to kill community spirit and the cooperation that makes it work!

And we see these mongrel miscreants at work when our charity bin aid donations are scavenged by second hand dealers!

Or again when pious to the very core, so called op shop volunteers do essentially the same thing, but when the goods are already on display and with price tags on!

Or when a "green grocer/shopper/grazer, minus a conscience? Thinks it's OK to rob community garden to rip a pitiful profit from a community they are clearly, not a part of!

Me? I'd say take and welcome! But only after, let us pray!

A long time ago, a thief I couldn't discourage with a gun, routinely broke into a shed to steal petrol!

Anyhow, I got to the point where I felt obliged to donate some to this poor person who clearly couldn't afford to buy his own and from the sweat of a hardworking brow? So I left some for him and ensured a old siphon pump was handy. So he could help himself to some I'd prepared earlier and sweetened. And has hit was 'is 'abit, late one evening after lights out, we heard the unmistakable sounds of drum lid being unscrewed and the tinkle tinkle of juice emptying into jerrycan.

The following day, one of our richest neighbors set of for a well earned Christmas holiday in the most heconomic 'olden station wagon in creation!

Tooting past the petrol station 'e regularly waved at, as he went by in 'is super heconomical SW.

Only to grind to a halt 50-60 miles further down the road, needing an "expensive" tow truck and a replacement engine!

The petrol theft stopped from then on and the new engine not nearly so heconomical as the hold one!

Vell yes, a good curry should burn just as much on the vay out as it did on the vay in! Too much sugar just kills it you see!?
Alan B.

This is the way of capitalism.
Anything else is socialist evil according to the folks around here.
You cant have it both ways.
You rightards knew what you were doing when you destroyed all our communal safeguards like unions and mutual societies, diverse media and public schooling et al.
You knew your ideology of individualism would lead to social breakdown and decay.
Just as long as a few got obscenely wealthy its all ok. Right?

Dear Mikk,

Yes, you have a point: all thieves should be unionised!
As a further communal safeguard and for the sake of social cohesion, members of TRUA (Thieves and Robbers Union, Australia) should proudly wear a special distinctive uniform for work.

This illustrates an interesting point, which is that in a time of reducing statistics for assault, murder, etc, we have more news reports of assaults and murders. Consequently, there is more fear about, despite the fact that my world and that of most readers is currently pretty darned good.

Similarly, it is much easier to find a news article about a murder in a far-off land than it is to find news of communities working together closer to home, despite both being everyday events. Result: More fear, less feeling of community.

I have spent a couple of decades in each of Apex, Rotary and my local Rural Fire Brigade and shorter stints in other community organisations. These overlapped: I am not a centenarian. I am also not a saint.

Either directly or indirectly, I have become aware of many folk who have achieved much more than I could dream of doing. They are the ones who likely also hold community gardens together and are first to help Little Athletics.

Yet the news focuses on strife. Fear and disunity are the results.