Much of the social history of the Western world over the past three decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good. -- Thomas Sowell

As a society, we are more concerned with what looks good vs. what is truly best. It is all about image. Perception is reality in our culture. For example, it doesn't matter if you are old, as long as you look young. It doesn't matter if you have no money for retirement and you are in debt up to your eyeballs, as long as you have the new car, the big home and the designer handbag. It doesn't matter that we are one of the richest and most powerful nations in the world- we have homeless people, uneducated people, working people with no healthcare and neglected children. But, by God, we are going to put on our shiny, happy face to the rest of the world and pretend none of this goes on. Not in our country.

It is like the elephant in the room that no one wants to admit to seeing. We need to be careful, one day that elephant could stampeed and kill us all...

In Other Words