THE ROOT CAUSE Cassius said, "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in the stars but in ourselves that we are underlings." John E. Schwarz, a political scientist at the University of Arizona, is far less certain of that: "The notion that people have a capacity to control their own destinies is an enormously strong, almost insistent feature of our American culture. The stories of penniless immigrants who came to these shores and became successful are as legion as they are inspiring, fostering a belief that anyone can start anew in this country and succeed. Principal Joe Clark tells his students at Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey: 'Don't you know, no one can hold you down unless you consent to it.' "Nonetheless, many people believe that over the past three decades a dangerous anti-ethos has arisen: the idea that the individual American is not responsible for his or her own fate. From the point of view of these observers, too many individuals have come to see themselves as victims rather than as agents, to feel sorry for themselves instead of working to pick themselves up--a mentality that government assistance programs helped to spawn and now continue to reinforce. With the expansion of government has come a feeling of entitlement and an emphasis on rights over responsibilities. The creed of personal accountability so important to the American ethos has withered, and with that has come a rise in welfare, illegitimacy, crime, and other social pathologies--the price the society has paid for the abandonment of character. "Or has something gone wrong with the ethos itself? The premise that individuals can control and so be personally responsible for their own lives presumes that the opportunity to do so exists. Generations of Americans have called this "the land of opportunity." But is it, still? Does opportunity remain available and adequate to the needs of the American people, sufficient to enable them to take control of their own lives? Does this ethos, which is expected to connect us and provide the moral underpinnings of a just and healthy society, reflect the reality that American families actually experience in their everyday lives? Are the problems troubling society today due to the disintegration of values and character, or to a genuine lack of opportunity that prevents individuals and families from being able to determine their own futures?" From John E. Schwarz's "Illusions of Opportunity: The American Dream in Question." http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/039304534X/newsscancom/