For Shame

Have we no shame? Just a generation ago, outrageous Americans like Joey Buttafuoco and O.J. Simpson would have been scorned. Christian mega-churches would have been viewed with suspicion. Self-help books, the recovery movement, and grade inflation didn't exist. Today, celebrity is its own reward, and every American has the right to an A and high self-esteem. Much to the joy of Madison Avenue ad agencies and the tabloid press, there is no stigma attached to bad behavior - as long as the perpetrator truly repents, of course. After all, if convicted crack smoker Marion Barry can be the mayor of…