mydigitallife

We are living in a world where ethical standards are falling. The pursuit of money above all else has led to a value system that removes any sense of fair play from the world.
The big recent example was the Ireland-France soccer match where Thiery Henry handled the ball setting up an opportunity for a goal. The referee and other officials missed the hand-ball. Should the French captain have told the referee that the goal should be disallowed?
In today's highly competitive sport, the rule is that is applied is that if you can get away with something, then why not.
There used to be a quality known as sportsmanship. Sportsmanship invokes the values of honesty and integrity, of not taking unfair advantage.
Sportsmanship is negated by the new value of win at all costs. The new value has led to the widespread use of steroids and other stimulants to gain an unfair advantage. Soccer players dive in the penalty area to get a penalty.
This attitude, as illustrated in the sporting world, is symptomatic of a wider social malaise. It is an attitude that afflicts governments and those in power. Corruption is not the exception but the rule. Abuse of expense claims to the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds was incredibly widespread in the UK until someone noticed.
Large corporations indulge in price-fixing and over-charging to make more money.
This is all part of a new value system that dictates that if you can get away with it, then do it.
The type of event that occured in the Ireland-France match is not an exception. It is something that happens in soccer matches every day. In this case the stakes were particularly high. That is why there has been so much fuss. Regretably, it is the norm rather than the exception.
Dissol responded to an earlier post, saying that it needn't be like that. He is 100% correct. We should expect integrity from out sportsmen and women. We should expect integrity from politicians. We should expect integrity from businesses and we should expect integrity from each other.
The expectation of integrity should be accompanied by a contempt for its absense. The Irish were right to kick up a huge fuss about the game. We should kick up a fuss every time a lack of integrity is displayed.
What a difference that would make to the world we live in!
Lets face the facts. Henry getting away with a hand ball just isn't cricket now, it is?

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