[rrpjr]

Excellent point, legion. The removal of stigma -- indeed the stigmatization of stigma -- is part and parcel of the self-esteem movement, which is also part of the post-modern society. I don't think any of these things can be seen except as parts of a whole corruption of what is really a wonderful quality of the American experience -- that is, the notion of the fresh start, the self-reinvention. But people now pass from wrongfulness into redemption without the necessary (socially and personally speaking) stage of shame.

Now scandal and even jail time -- the principal forms of social punishment I suppose -- are viewed simply as alternative stages (or mutations) of personal development, or even fame.

Can you imagine a return to "shunning"?

I remember when the author Doris Kearns Goodman was caught plagiarizing parts of her books. Plagiarism is the most serious crime an author can commit. But was she shunned or shamed? I don't think she even offered an apology to the writers from whom she stole, and didn't miss an appearance on "Meet the Press."

The breakdown at the top, and the failure to demonstrate concern for the moral character of society from the top, ripples throughout society.