In a recent survey, 9 out of every 10 people have admitted to cheating in school, at work, or in some other aspect of life at least once in their lives. Pretty scary to think about, isn't it?
The truth is that the above statistic is completely made up... I cheated by citing some made up survey in order to catch your attention. I bet it worked though.
So the question is this: just how wide spread is cheating in our society? After reading the following article from the NY Times, I would like you to answer the questions.
A Monopoly on Cheating
- Cheating is part of the bedrock of human society. Explain whether you agree or disagree.
- How can driving on the freeway demonstrate the strong temptation to cheat.
- Do you agree that cheaters never win and winners never cheat? Explain.
106 comments:
Peter R.
1) I agree with this statement, because so many people do it. In fact, the vast majority of high school students have reported to have cheated at least once during high school. The reason why so many people do it regardless of the consequences is because cheating offers an easy way out. Why bother studying hard and doing all these term papers by yourself when you can simply use someone else’s work? And this behavior doesn’t occur in just academic settings; people cheat in the corporate world, on their spouses, and even in social activities such as Monopoly.
2) Driving on the freeway demonstrates the temptation to cheat because although there is a set speed limit, virtually everyone drives ten to twenty miles an hour faster than it. When a police car is within sight, everyone slows back down to the limit. However, as soon as it leaves, everyone speeds up again. This shows that humans have a proclivity to push their limits.
3) I would have to disagree with that statement, because although many cheaters indeed get caught, there are many who don’t. For example, let’s look at the slaveholders of our country’s past. They cheated the freedoms out of tens of thousands of slaves, and were rewarded with essentially infinite wealth and respect among their communities. BP cheated the happiness out of thousands of Gulf Coast citizens and the lives out of millions of marine animals, but the company is still there, and all they had to do was pay a fine.
1.) I agree to the previous statement claiming that cheating is the bedrock of society. Aside from the fact that almost every individual would say that he has cheated at some point in his life, cheating has become a way for so many to come to advance himself in our present day society. From not fully paying all of ones taxes to lying in a game to win, cheating is always surrounding us. Many of the people, often, who cheat are strong willed and driven individuals who look for a quick means of advancement in society. Once it is found, the success in cheating is what drives our society today and thus further compels and entices others to continue on their cheating escapades.
2.) Driving on a freeway exemplifies the temptation behind cheating, while there are various laws regarding safety and appropriate manner on a freeway, people are compelled to break them. Speed limits and changing lanes restrictions are often, if not always, broken. On the northern state, it's almost impossible to find one person who does the lawful 55 miles per hour. Most people are doing 65-70 and weaving in and out of the slow people who are just reaching 60 in the right lane. Everyone on the freeway breaks the speed limit, which is concurrent with the idea that everyone cheats. When we see others cheat, we justify it to ourselves that it is alright for us to cheat as well.
3.) It's difficult to use such definite words such as "always" and "never," especially here, in regards to cheating. But I would have to disagree with the statement that cheaters never win and winners never cheat. Too many people in our current society cheat everyday and escape the consequences that come along with it. When two people are speeding down the Northern State at 75 miles per hour, and an officer only pulls one of the two cars over, the other car, who was essentially cheating, won in the situation and never got caught, thus escaping the fine of getting ticketed or points on his license. It's very possible, especially in our own society with various moral corruption, that cheaters can win.
1. I do believe that cheating is an inextricable part of life. You don’t always see the people who cut corners on work and don’t seem to feel the consequences of their actions, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t there. There are different degrees of cheating, and I think the majority of people participate to some degree at some point because nobody wants to feel as if they have been mindlessly following oppressive laws that appear to prevent them from getting what they want, especially while other people seem to be getting ahead.
2. Driving on the freeway can present a strong temptation to cheat by speeding because everyone around you is speeding so to level the playing field you cheat and speed as well. One of the biggest deterrents to cheating is the fear of getting caught. If everyone else around you is speeding and no one seems to be suffering any consequences, you will be more likely to speed because there appears to be no reason not to, at least in terms of punishments.
3. I don’t agree with the statement that winners never cheat and cheaters never win. I think many cheaters lie and succeed in their duplicity while many try to lie and do get caught. I think the distinction between the two types of cheaters lies entirely in the severity of their cheating, their ability to hide their deceit, and the integrity of the people who may catch them in the act.
1.) Cheating is most definitely not a part of the bedrock of society. When I look at this question it immediately reminds of three people, Bill Clinton, Martha Stewart, and Bernie Madoff. These three all have one thing in common, they’re considered “cheaters”. Clinton cheated on his wife, Martha was found guilty of insider trading and Bernie was found guilty of having one of the largest ponzi schemes of all time. Another thing that these three have in common is that they all paid for it. You see in society people do often cheat on the little things like speed limits and stop signs, but when it comes down to it, we’re a society of people that hates cheating on a larger scale. When the president cheated on his wife the entire country was up in arms ready to impeach him, when a host of a cooking show was found guilty of insider trading we laughed and mocked her while she sat in jail wondering whether or not she would bake her fellow inmates cookies and as for Mr. Madoff, his jail time and all the things he did, including the suicide of his son was ramifications of his heinous acts of cheating. You cannot say that cheating is a part of the bedrock of society because real cheating goes against everything society stands for.
2.) When the speed limit is 60mph, people will inevitably go 70. When someone slow is driving in the outer most lane; people will pass on the right and tailgate. The freeway has a lot of instances where people are able to cheat. However, in my personal opinion if other drivers see someone going 70 they’re not going to complain about it. However, if they see someone going 110 that’s going to be a problem. I think we cheat based on our beliefs on the morality of the issue and not only that but cheating on the freeway could be surviving and staying sane. Nothing scares me more than having someone riding on my bumper.
3.) Although I don’t think cheating is the bedrock of society, I will have to disagree with this statement. Cheaters do win, they win all the time in fact. I look around and see the kids I have known for four years getting into some of the colleges they are actually getting into and it make you think…how? That being said I don’t think you become the President of the U.S. without having incredible ability and work ethic or the QB of the Patriots without having years of practice behind you, but in the end of it all at least a few people are never going to get caught and will successfully cheat there way through life. But, if they were discovered…they wouldn’t be so lucky!
Mark S.
1. I strongly disagree with that statement. The bedrock of society is law and order. Without laws, society would be in complete chaos and could not function. Granted, there are quite a few people who cheat the laws, especially the ones that are not strictly enforced, but where would society be if we all did? What would become of the world if not a single person obeyed any laws? Everyone would basically be stealing anything they want, killing those they dont like, or breaking any law they don't want to abide by. If cheating were part of the bedrock of human society, then society would crumble.
2. One of the biggest troubles I had while learning to drive was the fact that whenever i drove the speed limit, I would have a line of cars behind me honking their horns. Eventually, I was pressured into speeding and now i'm on of the drivers that gets annoyed at those driving too slow. Everyone always seems to be in such a rush that there is so much pressure to speed (cheat the law). The reason so many people are tempted is because it is so unlikely that they with be punished for it and everyone seems to do it. Why should they be the only one to obey the law?
3. I disagree; cheating makes winning a lot easier. That is basically the whole purpose of cheating. It is unfortunate that some people can work so hard for something and then someone else could get the same thing with a fraction of the effort by cheating. I'm not saying that cheaters always win; there are many cheaters who get caught sooner or later. However, if the question is whether or not "cheaters never win," then i would have to say that is not the case. I can admit that i have won monopoly many times because of my impressive ability to cheat.
1.) Cheating is very prevalent in our society, and is 100% part of the bedrock of human society. A person's desire for power and money may cause them to cheat and lie. However, in the end, many get caught; some people may not though. Cheating represents a way for people to get ahead in life. As long as that option exists, people will continue to cheat because it will save them time in the end, although it may not be morally right. Cheating has always existed and will continue to exist in our society as long as people have a desire for money and power.
2.) On a freeway, people drive faster. It enables them to get to where they want to go faster. Cheating is similar to this; it allows people to take short cuts, and accomplish something faster. On a freeway, people are willing to speed, even though it is against the law. Cheating is similar. People are willing to do something that is not right in order to save time and effort.
3.) I do not agree with that statement at all. There are definitely cheaters who get over and beat the system, just as there are winners who cheat. I believe that everyone has cheated on something at one point or another in their life. In my opinion, only the unlucky ones get caught, although cheating is entirely wrong.
1) I agree that cheating is widely exercised in today’s society. While I do not believe that cheating exhibits moral integrity, or that it can be justified in order to better oneself, I do believe that it is a very prevalent aspect in human society. Many people cheat to some extent, especially if they see no consequences for their actions, or if there is no chance of them being caught in the act. People cheat to further themselves in ways that could give them an unfair advantage, and people will continue to do so, as long as we continue to live in an extremely competitive society.
2) Driving on the freeway can certainly demonstrate a person’s strong temptation to cheat. Generally, when driving, people wish to reach their destinations as soon as possible, and thus people tend o ignore the speed limit. Going faster than the speed limit, something which nearly everybody does in their lifetime can be considered breaking the law to get what you want, or where you want faster than you would normally be able to, which is just like cheating, because rules are being broken to give a person a significant advantage.
3) I wish I could say that cheaters never win, and winners never cheat, but I don’t necessarily believe that this is true. If cheaters are caught breaking the rules, then they will obviously face consequences. However too often in our society, cheaters are not caught, or their poor decisions are often overlooked, and therefore these people are not punished for their wrongdoings, but instead are rewarded with the significant advantages they receive by cheating.
Kaitlyn H.
1) I agree that cheating is the bedrock of society. Almost everyone has admitted to cheating at least once before. Cheating has even evolved to different versions like cheating on a test, in a job or to a get a job, on a spouse, or even to get ahead. Most people do it because it is the easy way out of things. It allows someone to do something without having to do the work or studying to prepare for it. From Thomas Jefferson and Franklin D. Roosevelt to Elliot Spitzer, people have been cheating for centuries in all different ways.
2) Driving on the freeway demonstrates the strong temptation to treat because when driving on the freeway no matter what the speed limit may be, people always tend to go ten to twenty miles over that. However, when they see a cop, they automatically slow down to avoid getting caught for going over the speed limit or cheating the law, and when the cop leaves or is out of sight, everyone starts to speed up again. This shows that humans cheat in everyday life, especially when there is no one around to disapprove of it or condemn them for it.
3) I would have to disagree with the statement that “cheaters never win, and winners never cheat.” Although there are many people who never cheated or admitted to cheating to become winners, like Donald Trump, many people have cheated, gotten away with it, and became successful as a result. Cheating is a big temptation to people now because so many people can do it and get away with it; “doing your best” is not okay with most people anymore, because if someone or a team could be just a little better than the next best person or team, it could take them far in life. For example, in 1999, when the U.S. women’s soccer team became the World Cup champions, the team’s players became role models for thousands of young female athletes, but it was found out later that they cheated. When Chinese player Liu Ying went to take her penalty kick, U.S. goalkeeper Briana Scurry illegally moved forward before Ying hit her penalty kick. The cheating won American the World Cup. Despite clear video evidence and protests from the Chinese team, the U.S. women’s soccer team’s cheating was virtually ignored. This is a clear example of how the statement “cheaters never win, and winners never cheat,” usually does not prove itself to be true.
1. I agree that cheating is part of the bedrock of human society. I strongly believe that if one was asked if they have ever cheated in anything in their lives, they would be lying if they said no. Although cheating is bad and unethical, cheating will never leave society. This can be supported by the recent realization that many professional athletes take some kind of performance enhancing drug to give themselves an advantage over “clean” players.
2. Driving on the freeway demonstrates the strong temptation to cheat because if there is little traffic and no police cars around, most drivers choose to drive over the speed limit. This shows that when there are no consequences for cheating, most people will choose to cheat.
3. I disagree with that statement because certain instances in sports support my opinion. The recent “dynasty” that the New England Patriots had caused many people to refer to them as a winning franchise. I agree that a team that wins 3 super bowls in 4 years should be called a winner, but after now they can also be called cheaters. After it was proven that the Patriots had tapes of other teams’ practices, many people chose to say that they were cheaters, but many of these same people still call them winners because they still won all of those championships, and that cannot be taken away from them. I also don’t believe that cheaters always win because the Memphis Tigers were not as lucky as the New England Patriots. In 2008, the Tigers reached the Final Four and eventually lost in the championship to the Mario Chalmers led Kansas Jayhawks. Although they didn’t win the championship, just reaching the Final Four is a huge accomplishment. Unfortunately for Memphis, they got caught for using an ineligible player, Derrick Rose (for having another student take his SATs), that same season. Because of this, there Final Four appearance, as well as their numerous wins and accomplishments from that season, were vacated.
fnf up
Meagan M.
Cheating is part of the bedrock of human society. Explain whether you agree or disagree.
I disagree. I do agree that many people cheat, in fact, I'll even say that I believe every person has cheated at least once. I do not, however, believe that it is the foundation for human society. A foundation must be strong to uphold anything; therefore, a society based solely on cheating would fail. I wouldn't go so far as to say that human society is perfect, but at the very least, functioning. I believe the foundation of human society is government, because as we've seen in our history, a country without a firm government would never be successful. Our country was designed to limit and not tolerate cheating and crime within our borders, not build a society off of it.
2. People actually get angry with me when I don't "cheat" on the freeway by driving over the speed limit. They're more willing to cheat the law by speeding because in that situation, they sub-conciously believe that law enforcers will tolerate it or they will not get caught/punished. People in general are inclined to break rules when they don't think there will be consequences.
3. I guess this is supposed to be a morally based question, but I prefer to look at things logically. Cheaters technically can win. A cheater in a race may come in first, a person speeding may get to their destination, a shoplifter may escape with their product. People argue that cheaters feel guilty after cheating and therefore do not win, however, I don't think this applies for all who cheat. I believe that some cheaters take pride in their cheating, even if it's something as small as speeding on the freeway. "Winners never cheat" is a very general statement. First of all, what exactly is a winner? And can you ever use extremities like always and never? Some people who win do not cheat. It's impossible to determine if all "winners" have never cheated. Of course, I'm taking this extremely literally. If I were to loosen my perspective, I'd say that many successful people are known for corruption leading to or hindering further success. There are very few completely genuine people in this world.
Ryan S.
1. I do strongly agree that cheaters are a part of the bedrock of society. Whether or not we like to admit it, everyone has the affinity to cheat and cheating and cheaters have been around forever. In fact, we do not know of a society in which cheaters were not present. Some of the most well-known names got to fame because of their cheating, or the advantage they received from cheating such as Barry Bonds and Bernie Madoff.
2. The strong temptation to cheat exists in driving on the freeway in many different forms; however the most obvious is speeding. Just about everyone “cheats”, going 10-15 miles per hour over the designated speed limit so as to arrive at their destination faster and have less traveling time. Even though it is illegal and in that sense “cheating”, nobody has any problem doing it because they know the chances of getting pulled over for this is rare. Similar temptations come in the form of texting or talking on the phone while driving,or even driving in the HOV lane when it’s only you in the car. As minor as these might seem, all these infractions are considered cheating.
3. Unfortunately, I have to disagree with the statement “cheaters never win and winners never cheat” because of the examples we see throughout history where this statement in invalidated. While we would like to believe this is true, and many times is true and the cheaters do get their just punishment, its obviously a flawed statement The world of professional sports is the best example of how cheaters prosper and will continue to cheat even when they are on top. Barry Bonds is a great example, prior to the allegations about his steroid use; he was a superstar to everyone. And even when he was in his prime and hitting 70+ home runs a year he continued to use anabolic steroids. Even now, he is not being trialed for his steroid use, but rather on perjury charges. A star like Alex Rodriguez is an even better example, because he openly admitted he cheated and after a few weeks of uncertainty by the public he has retained his superstar status in almost everyone’s eyes.
1) I do not believe that cheating is the bedrock of society, but that selfishness is. Selfishness certainly seems to go hand-in-hand with cheating though, but cheating alone does not make a society or an economy run. Ambition may motivate an individual to cheat, but some logic and/or a particular moral disposition are just as likely to make someone cut a corner - regardless, though, it is not solely cheating that is a foundation for society, but it is certainly a part.
2) Driving on a freeway tempts every single person to break the law. The classic "well everyone else is doing it" idea comes to the forefront here, and almost everyone will go above the legal speed limit. Ironically, you would probably create traffic by abiding by the actual law. LOL! (Seriously folks, this is nothing to joke about).
3) Ideally, cheaters would always wind up getting their just desserts and winners would celebrate with a feast of hard-earned victory, but it just does not come close to working that way. It's not even just modern society, but throughout all of history, cheaters have been the wons to ascend to power or gain fame or recognition. I think that hard work can really get you places, but cheating to get ahead is much easier to do, and someone will probably end up doing that to you anyway. That's not to say that Cheaters never get their karma, but it is not a reliable method to deal with them. El fin.
1. I absolutely agree that cheating is part of the bedrock of society. I feel this way because many of mankind’s most successful people cheated in order to get to where they are today. For instance, Bill Gates cheated during the development of his multibillion-dollar product, Microsoft.
2. Driving on the freeway can cause a person to experience a strong temptation to cheat. This is because a person would want to drive over the speed limit in order to reach their desired location faster. Also, a person may feel the urge to talk on their cell phone illegally and therefore cheat the law.
3. I disagree with the statement, “Cheaters never win, and winners never cheat.” My main evidence for my disagreement comes from professional sports. Thousands of professional athletes during the past years have used performance-enhancing drugs, but only a few have been singled out and scrutinized for their behavior. Many of these athletes made millions of dollars and, at the very worst, they were disciplined with a fine of only a few thousand dollars.
James C.
1)When it comes right down to it, cheating in fact lies upon the bedrock of human society. Why? Temptation. When it comes to temptation, people are willing to cheat if they see no danger in doing it, they are willing to take that extra "risk" just to get further in life. Although they may feel that their is no consequence in doing it, there is actually a consequence even if they are not caught, once they reach a point in life where cheating is not an option, they fall apart. Sure not everybody cheats in life, but the simple fact is, that the majority of people have cheated in some way, shape, or form, even if they don't realize it.
2)Driving on a freeway is a great way to demonstrate the natural temptations in which humans try and cheat. Typically, people on the freeway are more tempted to go over the posted speed limit, and weave through lanes, either because they are in a rush to get somewhere, or they are impatient and just want to get off the roads. As I've learned first hand from driving on the LIE, the temptation to speed and weave in and out of traffic is just so great that a practical excuse to an officer who catches you would be that everyone else is just doing the same.
3)I feel that when it comes down to cheating, cheaters usually end up losing later on in life because a situation appears where cheating just isn't a viable option, since the cheater has only known cheating in their life, they may be stuck in a situation that people who don't cheat may be able to overcome. I would have to disagree with the statement that winners never cheat. My reasoning behind this is that so many things in life can be considered cheating, that it is almost impossible to get through life without doing it. At the same time, cheating is a concept in which some acts would be considered cheating by a majority, where other acts could be considered cheating by the minority.
Eric B.
1) I wouldn’t go as far as to say that cheating is part of the bedrock of humanity, but I would say it is in the bedrock of human nature. History is riddled with “cheaters,” like Richard Nixon or Tiger Woods. We constantly are shown cheaters in all walks of life who rarely reform the way they act. Instead, they issue a mere apology to escape any real punishment. Although it runs rampant in everyday life, I would not say it is in the bedrock of society.
2) The example of driving on the freeway demonstrates the urge to cheat is because of the temptation to break the law, especially when no one is looking. Everyone seems to love the rush of going faster than the speed they are told to drive, perhaps because of the rush they get from knowing they are breaking the rules Although it is a minor violation of the law, it is still a form of cheating at the end of the day.
3) I wholly disagree with the idea that cheaters never win. One of my best friends is constantly cheating on his girlfriend, who obviously cares about him very much. He has messed around with close to a hundred other women while dating this other girl. His depravity knows no bounds! Some would say that he should not be focusing on other women, but instead his 37 children. I care about this girl’s feelings, but the cheater utilizes Charlie Sheen's life philosophy which I cannot disagree with. His argument is that through cheating he is in fact “winning.” As we all know, you don’t argue with a Vatican assassin/warlock. So, I’m going to have to say cheaters in fact constantly win.
Brian R.
1) I do not agree that cheating is part of the bedrock of human society; however, many people have made it an integral part of their lives. There are in fact good, fair people in the world. The problem is that we as humans have a tendency to remember the people who slight or hurt us, rather than those who do good because we think that it is normal for people to be innately good.
2) Driving on the freeway demonstrates the strong temptation in two particular situations. The first is when you are driving on the freeway when no one else is around and you are tempted to drive over the speed limit for excitement and to get where you are going faster. The second is when you are on a crowded freeway where people are driving only 30 or 40 mph and you are tempted to weave in and out of traffic and cut them off to get ahead.
3) I do not agree with this statement. Often times in life the cheaters advance their positions in life by "using" the work/effort/resources of good, innocent people for their own interests. Don't get me wrong, good people succeed too; however, we often feel a greater cost because we are "used" by cheaters and we must succeed by relying only on our own hard work.
Chris M.
1. I agree with the statement that cheating is part of the bedrock of human society, simply due to the fact that - not in a bad way - humanity is primarily focused on self-interest and self-promotion. In this sense, I mean that cheating is often a not intended to cause harm in society, but rather for an innocent reason of self-preservation. A perfect example is over-claiming deductions on a tax return; many people do this simply because they feel that their taxes are too high and that they are paying more than their fair share, so a small decrease is warranted. Obviously this is cheating the regulations of the government, but at what point is this considered morally wrong. Moreover, if cheating were not a part of the bedrock of human society, where would competition fall in our lives, and further would we want to live in a society in which competition did not play a significant role?
2. Driving on the freeway represents both the strong temptation to cheat and the fact that many do indeed cheat by disobeying traffic regulations - primarily speed limits. This is also an appropriate example, however, of when cheating should be accepted. In New York State, the freeway speed limit is an unattainably low 55 mph, which makes the fact that people usually do 10 to 25 mph over the speed limit simply because it is reasonably prudent to do so. In my opinion, cheating such as this is acceptable because it is going against a regulation that is both unfair and unwarranted. Furthermore, it is arguable to even consider this cheating, since few highway patrol officers will issue a ticket unless a driver is going well over the speed limit to the point of recklessness.
3. I would not agree with the statement that "cheaters never win and winners never cheat." Certainly, there are winners who abstain from cheating, and of course there are many cheaters who manage to get caught and punished for their transgressions. However, in general, I believe it would be reasonable to state that most winners do cheat in some form or another, simply because most probably do so either unintentionally or with good intentions. Though that may sound contradictory, it is not, as would one say that a runner "cheated" by getting a great night sleep the day prior to a race? Certainly it is an "unfair advantage" to the racer who pulled an all-nighter, but it does not mean the former runner was in any way seeking to damn the rest of society. Nonetheless, unfortunately there are those who do cheat rather egregiously, and are not caught due to the sheer volume of those cheating. But is a world rid of cheating the solution? Certainly not.
1. I agree that cheating is part of the bedrock of human society. In countless situations, people of placed greed ahead of morality and have cheated in some form. Cheating offers people an alternate option to working hard, which is perceived to get the cheater on the same level as the person doing their work. History and public figures have shown how cheating has been a part of the bedrock of human society. Cheating in our society can vary from Tiger Woods cheating on his wife with possibly hundreds of women, to any high school student that has cheated on a homework or exam. Cheating is seen as a way to give a person an advantage over another, so cheating is a route often taken. As long as the human society continues to be competitive in social, economic, and work activities, cheating will be a part of the bedrock of human society.
2. Driving on the freeway demonstrates the strong temptation to cheat because as long as there is not a cop to stop you, the general population will cheat. Most drivers will exceed the set speed limit because they want to get where they are going faster and for the fact that all the drivers are also going faster than the speed limit. Drivers on the freeway will also cheat the laws by using their cellphone, driving in the HOV lane with one person, and crossing solid white lines. The idea that the driver won’t get caught or punished will allow drivers to constantly have the temptation to cheat.
3. I disagree with the statement that cheaters never win and winners never cheat. Often the person that cheats will become successful because the cheater is relying on the hard work of other people and other options to put them ahead. On Wall Street, in professional sports, and in high school there are many people that have cheated to get ahead and find success. In high school, there are people that have relied on other people for every assignment and that cheater sometimes goes to better colleges than the people who helped him/her. In professional sports, Victor Conte trained several athletes that had found extreme success after starting to work with him. All of these athletes ended up getting all of the awards they won during their period with Conte because they all got tested positive for steroids. Even though Conte cheated his way with all these athletes, he still has a high paying client base that consists of the likes of a top professional baseball player and a top professional boxer.
Steve G.
1)I would have to disagree with this statement because I don't feel bedrock is the best word to describe how it is connected to human nature. Though cheating has become somewhat normal as time progressed, I do think that the majority of people know the difference between right and wrong and often choose not to cheat because of it. I know statistics show that many people have cheated in the past whether it be academically or in their job, but I do not think that it makes up a substantial portion of human nature.
2)Driving on the freeway could demonstrate a strong temptation to cheat because though everyone is technically required to follow a speed limit, nearly all drivers drive above that limit. Unless one spots a policeman patrolling, his tendency is to not slow down until he gets caught.
3)I feel that in theory this is true but in some cases it just doesn't work out that way. I idealistically believe that if you do cheat, you will not feel the fulfillment and true victory in the long run but the fact of the matter is that cheaters "win" all the time especially in the financial world where there really is not too much moral reprehension for cheating just a little.
1. I disagree with the belief that cheating is part of the bedrock of human society. Sure, there are those who get ahead through the use of cheating, and may never get caught. On the other hand, there is a vast majority of people who live their lives with honest values, and do not partake in cheating. I may be naive in saying this, but to say that it is in the "bedrock" is saying that humanity and cheating go hand and hand; it may exist, but it doesn't define us.
2. Driving on the freeway can demonstrate the strong temptation to cheat in several ways. If you are stuck in traffic, you may be tempted to illegally pull into the shoulder and zoom away while those following the law sit idly in their cars. Also, if the freeway is empty, you may be tempted to inch past the speed limit and make your trip time a little shorter.
3. I don't agree with the statement that cheaters never win and winners never cheat. There are those in society who do cheat to get ahead, and succeed in doing this. Also, all winners have not necessarily gained this glory by completely following the rules. Unfortunately, in society, people can bend their way around laws and rules that will enable them to "win", but that again doesn't mean that it is fundamental to our nature.
Patrick H.
1.I do feel that cheating is a major part of our human society. The desire to gain a competitive advantage over someone else is just part of our very nature. All one has to do is look at baseball and its steroid era. Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds, two players with all the natural talent in the world and who were already hall of fame caliber players before taking steroids, both opted to try to gain even more of an advantage by using steroids. Another example is Sammy Sosa, who not only took steroids, but was also caught corking his bat. These examples show that people are never satisfied and that it is in our nature to try and gain an advantage by any means necessary.
2.The freeway demonstrates people’s strong temptation to cheat because on the freeway there is a set speed limit, and virtually everyone decides to drive faster than that limit. People see that they can get away with driving 10-15 mph faster than the speed limit and exploit this. It seems that no matter what the speed level is set at, people will always be inclined to drive a little bit faster than it. As the old saying goes, “Give somebody an inch and they'll take a mile.”
3.I do agree with the statement that cheaters never win and winners never cheat. Unfortunately, while many people do achieve success by cheating and having their corrupt ways fly under the radar, many people achieve success by doing things the right way and working for their success. The cheats who achieve success will never be winners because, at the end of the day, they will have to live with themselves and the burden of knowing that they truly do not deserve what they have attained. Whilst the people who put in the work and earned things the right way, are going to be happy with themselves and have a clear conscious.
Christina N.
1. I agree that cheating is part of the bedrock of human society because there is a lot of pressure and focus put on doing well and achieving success that people are willing to bend and break rules. Cheating is also very tempting because there is a chance to get ahead without being caught.
2. Driving on the freeway can demonstrate the strong temptation to cheat because you are capable of driving significantly faster than the speed limit. When this happens, it is tempting because you may be able to safely get to your destination much quicker and without being pulled over by the police.
3. I disagree with the statement that cheaters never win and winners never cheat. This is because a lot of people who cheat never get caught. Although there may be guilt because they have not honestly achieved success, they still will have achieved their goal. In fact, I think that there is such a strong temptation to cheat that everyone breaks or bends rules in order to try to get ahead.
Alex T
1) Sadly, yes I do think that cheating is the bedrock of human society. Almost every person has cheated at least once in his or her life, whether it was on a test, or even while playing a game. Perhaps because most people are lazy; they would rather risk their reputation and get caught cheating then to do what they need to do. For example, on reports, many students choose to copy the work of another, even when they know that websites such as turnitin will easily catch their plagiarism. It seems that people would rather receive and F for cheating and ruin their reputation, then to receive an F for not doing the work.
2) Driving on a freeway is a great example of the temptation to cheat in today’s society. This is because most people speed in order to be on time, or possibly even for the thrill of breaking the law. Additionally, on a highway you can never get a ticket for keeping up with traffic, even if you are going faster then the speed limit. This means even if the speed limit is 60, and everybody is doing 75, the people cheating the law at 75 will not get a ticket, but rather the person who is cheating more than the average person and is going 90. What does this tell us about our society: a person who cheats does not get caught, only a person who cheats more than the average person.
3) No, I do not agree with the statement. Even though many people who cheat do get caught, many do not. Though a person who wins by cheating has only won superficially, they have still won on paper. For example, a person who cheats on a test and gets 100 may not have the satisfaction and knowledge of the person who has gotten 100 through perseverance and hard work; however, on paper they have both received and A.
Alex T.
1) Sadly, yes I do think that cheating is the bedrock of human society. Almost every person has cheated at least once in his or her life, whether it was on a test, or even while playing a game. Perhaps because most people are lazy; they would rather risk their reputation and get caught cheating then to do what they need to do. For example, on reports, many students choose to copy the work of another, even when they know that websites such as turnitin will easily catch their plagiarism. It seems that people would rather receive and F for cheating and ruin their reputation, then to receive an F for not doing the work.
2) Driving on a freeway is a great example of the temptation to cheat in today’s society. This is because most people speed in order to be on time, or possibly even for the thrill of breaking the law. Additionally, on a highway you can never get a ticket for keeping up with traffic, even if you are going faster then the speed limit. This means even if the speed limit is 60, and everybody is doing 75, the people cheating the law at 75 will not get a ticket, but rather the person who is cheating more than the average person and is going 90. What does this tell us about our society: a person who cheats does not get caught, only a person who cheats more than the average person.
3) No, I do not agree with the statement. Even though many people who cheat do get caught, many do not. Though a person who wins by cheating has only won superficially, they have still won on paper. For example, a person who cheats on a test and gets 100 may not have the satisfaction and knowledge of the person who has gotten 100 through perseverance and hard work; however, on paper they have both gotten 100.
Tatianna M.
1.I agree because everyone cheats. Students, parents, politicians, boy or girl - they all cheat. I am sure our founding fathers have even cheated at one point. Cheating is a way to get to what you want to accomplish faster, but with consequences in most cases. People cheat with business, in games, or people cheat with each other. We all lie and cheat our way through life.
2. On the freeway you can go above the speed limit with less risk of crashing. Although there is a legal set limit, everyone drives a lot faster because you can get to your destination quicker. Being on the freeway gives you the feeling almost as if it's okay to go a lot faster then the law says.
3. I believe that really good cheaters win and dont get caught. But some cheaters can get caught so easily and lose everything. Some professional baseball players for example. Some get caught using steroids and other drugs to enhance their game and then they lost everything. But I am sure there are people out there who have cheated and are still continually successful.
Alex T.
1) Sadly, yes I do think that cheating is the bedrock of human society. Almost every person has cheated at least once in his or her life, whether it was on a test, or even while playing a game. Perhaps because most people are lazy; they would rather risk their reputation and get caught cheating then to do what they need to do. For example, on reports, many students choose to copy the work of another, even when they know that websites such as turnitin will easily catch their plagiarism. It seems that people would rather receive and F for cheating and ruin their reputation, then to receive an F for not doing the work.
2) Driving on a freeway is a great example of the temptation to cheat in today’s society. This is because most people speed in order to be on time, or possibly even for the thrill of breaking the law. Additionally, on a highway you can never get a ticket for keeping up with traffic, even if you are going faster then the speed limit. This means even if the speed limit is 60, and everybody is doing 75, the people cheating the law at 75 will not get a ticket, but rather the person who is cheating more than the average person and is going 90. What does this tell us about our society: a person who cheats does not get caught, only a person who cheats more than the average person.
3) No, I do not agree with the statement. Even though many people who cheat do get caught, many do not. Though a person who wins by cheating has only won superficially, they have still won on paper. For example, a person who cheats on a test and gets 100 may not have the satisfaction and knowledge of the person who has gotten 100 through perseverance and hard work; however, on paper they have both gotten 100.
Alex T.
1) Sadly, yes I do think that cheating is the bedrock of human society. Almost every person has cheated at least once in his or her life, whether it was on a test, or even while playing a game. Perhaps because most people are lazy; they would rather risk their reputation and get caught cheating then to do what they need to do. For example, on reports, many students choose to copy the work of another, even when they know that websites such as turnitin will easily catch their plagiarism. It seems that people would rather receive and F for cheating and ruin their reputation, then to receive an F for not doing the work.
2) Driving on a freeway is a great example of the temptation to cheat in today’s society. This is because most people speed in order to be on time, or possibly even for the thrill of breaking the law. Additionally, on a highway you can never get a ticket for keeping up with traffic, even if you are going faster then the speed limit. This means even if the speed limit is 60, and everybody is doing 75, the people cheating the law at 75 will not get a ticket, but rather the person who is cheating more than the average person and is going 90. What does this tell us about our society: a person who cheats does not get caught, only a person who cheats more than the average person.
3) No, I do not agree with the statement. Even though many people who cheat do get caught, many do not. Though a person who wins by cheating has only won superficially, they have still won on paper. For example, a person who cheats on a test and gets 100 may not have the satisfaction and knowledge of the person who has gotten 100 through perseverance and hard work; however, on paper they have both gotten 100.
Alexandra T.
1) Sadly, yes I do think that cheating is the bedrock of human society. Almost every person has cheated at least once in his or her life, whether it was on a test, or even while playing a game. Perhaps because most people are lazy; they would rather risk their reputation and get caught cheating then to do what they need to do. For example, on reports, many students choose to copy the work of another, even when they know that websites such as turnitin will easily catch their plagiarism. It seems that people would rather receive and F for cheating and ruin their reputation, then to receive an F for not doing the work.
2) Driving on a freeway is a great example of the temptation to cheat in today’s society. This is because most people speed in order to be on time, or possibly even for the thrill of breaking the law. Additionally, on a highway you can never get a ticket for keeping up with traffic, even if you are going faster then the speed limit. This means even if the speed limit is 60, and everybody is doing 75, the people cheating the law at 75 will not get a ticket, but rather the person who is cheating more than the average person and is going 90. What does this tell us about our society: a person who cheats does not get caught, only a person who cheats more than the average person.
3) No, I do not agree with the statement. Even though many people who cheat do get caught, many do not. Though a person who wins by cheating has only won superficially, they have still won on paper. For example, a person who cheats on a test and gets 100 may not have the satisfaction and knowledge of the person who has gotten 100 through perseverance and hard work; however, on paper they have both gotten 100.
~Andrew R.
1. I agree that cheating is part of the bedrock of our society. Especially in America, I believe our modern society encourages and facilitates cutting corners and cheating to accomplish goals in as quick a manner as possible. In many ways I believe our capitalistic system encourages these actions as well. Capitalism means survival of the fittest; if one does not make sufficient funds that may be left behind in society. Therefore, when one has the opportunity to cut corners to accomplish goals, they are much more likely to cheat. This begins young in one's life. Students cheat to get better grades, to make a better college, to get a better job, to eventually attain a better career and make more money.
2. Driving on the freeway is a strong demonstration of temptations to cheat because often there is no one there to enforce the law. If one sees a cop, they are very unlikely to speed because they fear the consequences and the consequences are just feet away. However, if no cop is in sight, almost everyone speeds at one time or another. Technically, going 5 miles over the speed limit is breaking the law, but everyone does it. It has simply become an accepted practice in our nation. Therefore, most people cheat and cut corners because they rationalize that the benefit they will be receiving from cheating outweighs the risk and chance of getting caught.
3. I disagree completely with the sentiment that cheaters never win and winners never cheat. While I do believe in some karmic justice, there have been numerous examples of those who cheated and got away with it. For example, the steroid era in baseball led to players enchanting their performance and subsequently getting higher contracts. Even though some got exposed in the Mitchell Report and in public, they still lived the high life for more than a decade. Furthermore, they really did not even get punished when the names did come out. Everyone who has lived long enough has probably cheated and been caught, as well as cheated and have not been caught. Some people are just more lucky than others.
1) I agree that cheating is the bedrock of society because it's definitely something that occurs in many different forms of life everyday. Cheating sometimes takes place in schools, due to student's need to get good grades. Also,some of the wealthiest people in the past and present have achieved occupational and financial success as a result of cheating. Those who have succeeded from cheating include athletes such as Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriquez who used steroids, along with people like Bernie Madoff who stole money. Even though cheating is often not as significant as in the examples above, it definitely takes place everyday.
2)Driving on the freeway gives the tempatation to cheat because people have the urge to go over the speed limit since they believe they can do it without getting caught. The speed limit of the L.I.E. used to be 65mph, but it was lowered by 10mph because authorities know that everyone drives over the speed limit. The one thing that really slows people down is the highway police, but even so, people still speed.
3) I don't agree with this statement. Going back to the reference to sports, many of the athletes that have succeeded from using steriods have gotten away with it for a long time. Then on the other hand, it's a greater struggle for those athletes that elect not to take steroids. I'm not saying cheaters always win, I'm just saying there are some cheaters that succeed from cheating, and they have found ways to get away with it.
Brian C.
1) There will always be cheaters in the human society. People naturally want to win, and some will go as far as cheating to do so. In every part of society, there will be cheaters and there will be the rest of society who plays by the rules. Nobody likes losing, so some people will try to secretly bend or break the rules to gain an advantage.
2) Driving on the freeway allows us to raise our speed to greatly to reach our destination quicker. This causes us to want to get to an even higher speed to reach our destination as quickly as possible, especially when there is nobody or when there are less people around to watch us cheat. Sometimes people do this because they don't think that there will be guaranteed consequences.
3) I think that cheaters who get caught never win and winners who cheat are only winners until they are caught. If Bernie Madoff was never caught stealing, who would he be? He would certainly be living a nice lifestyle sitting upon all of those billions of stolen dollars, and being a billionaire certainly sounds like a winner's lifestyle to me. Sure, cheaters may live with loads of guilt, but they still win. It's all about being caught. Winners can cheat and remain winners until they are caught.
1) I agree, to some degree, that cheating is the bedrock to society because a majority of people are selfish and want to look better on a test grade or getting something they want by cheating others. There is also a good amount of people who won't cheat, but I think if people get the easy opportunity to cheat, they will take it.
2)Driving on the freeway demonstrates the strong temptation to cheat because you get to your destination faster and with less work than you would if you drove through towns. Towns take a longer time to drive through because the speed limits are lower and traffic lights.
3) I agree that cheaters never win and winners never cheat because if you cheat to win something, usually you will have a guilty conscious rather than those winners who don't cheat. If you win fairly, you can be proud that your hard work paid off.
Connor L.
1) I wouldn't say that cheating is at the "bedrock" of human society because it's not a part of the foundation of our economy, and it's certainly not what keeps everything functioning together as a result for the common good. A perfect example of this is what happens to the orchestrators of Ponizi schemes--eventually, they get caught.
2) First off: no. Traffic and speeding does not demonstrate the strong temptation to cheat because it is not cheating! This is considered to be breaking the law and does not take away from anyone directly. Speeding as a result of an accident is also not cheating because it's the result of something that someone did wrong. But, this would not be considered as "cheating."
3) Cheaters can definitely win depending on the given situation and how well they handle it. If they play their cards right and keep their enemies close, they can lie, steal, cheat and success all at once. All anyone would have to know about is the latter.
Robert B. Said...
1. I considerably agree that cheaters are a main part of society and cannot be avoided. This is because in an American capitalistic system, everybody tries to be the best at their endeavors no matter what the means are of achieving it. Not everyone can succeed merely from talent and therefore it takes some sort of cheating to gain a creative advantage.
2. Driving on the freeway demonstrates the strong principles behind cheating because it creates a gain or faster advantage over other people that take the same routes. On the other hand, this is not always a bad mentality because people finding advantages over others can also have positive effects in society. Similar examples to gaining access to the freeway would be competing with better advertisements or using insider trading on the stock market. They both try to gain a fair advantage over others but other people can also benefit from their success.
3. I disagree with both parts of the statement because cheaters like Bernie Madoff have won large sums of money while a winner such as Bobby Fisher cheated out of taxes by wiring his money to another country. Credit should not be given to cheaters who severely ruin other people’s lives/ theft, but rather to those who try to better themselves through cleverness that cheat6ing is a part of. Even in economic terms cheating has been proven to be more risky in life, but with a lower opportunity cost so cheaters can win if they are shrewd enough.
1. To say that cheating is a staple of society is, well sadly it’s entirely accurate. Getting anywhere in life while resisting the urge to cheat is extremely difficult. There are simply so many chances to do it and the advantages often seem to outweigh the consequence of a guilty conscience. If cheaters weren’t the bedrock of society, then society itself would be much more efficient.
2. I don’t really consider speeding cheating but for the sake of this question, sure it is. 99.9999999% of the population speeds at some point or another, especially on freeways because everyone else is going thirty miles over the speed limit. Unless you’re driving a red Ferrari and going 100 miles per hour, you’re probably not going to get caught. Why not do something that seems to pose such minimal risk with an obvious gain. Oddly, cheating on a test would probably pose a greater moral dilemma to people than the choice to speed and put people’s lives in danger. What makes people’s minds work like this, I’ll never know.
3. Ah, nothing like a good cliché. Just like there’s no I in team, but if there’s no I and no you in team, then who’s on the team? To simplify the previous statement, this is not true. Politicians, lawyers, teache… I mean business executives, all got to where they were through some form of cheating. If cheating is so loosely defined as to include any form of rule breaking, then I don’t think anyone has gone without cheating their entire life. In fact, I have a new quote for you, “Cheating is the gateway for opportunity.”
Greg M.
1. I disagree with this statement. I believe cheating is not apart of the bedrock of human society. There are only so many people that cheat on tests, taxes, games, etc.. As you grow, I believe you learn moral values such as never cheating. I think as you mature, you learn more and your conscience lets you know how wrong it is. I tend to think of the "bedrock" as a strong foundation and I don't put cheating in the same category. That is why I don’t believe cheating is apart of the bedrock of human society.
2. Driving on the freeway does not demonstrate a temptation to cheat. The biggest reason why is that I highly doubt those who make and enforce these speed limit laws obey those rules. It’s just a way of living. This is like the wacky laws that some states have that I can assume if people break these laws they don’t exactly feel guilty about it.
3. Unfortunately, I do have to agree with this statement that cheaters never win and winners never cheat. The first part of this statement, (cheaters never win) can be false. People like Barry Bonds was one of the few who got caught using steroids in Major League Baseball. I’m sure there are plenty of other players who are also taking illegal substances in all sports. Also, things like what Bernie Madoff did is probably happening right now and are probably getting a way with it. Lastly, in the movie “21,” the college students who illegally counted cards probably would’ve gotten away with all their money if they didn’t get so greedy. I understand it’s a movie, but this could definitely happen
1) In my opinion, cheating is in some cases the bedrock of human society. A large portion of the people who hold large amounts of power in society have achieved their way unethically. There may be many people who will say that the majority of people don’t cheat, but cheating can be something small like cheating on a test to anything as large as a Ponzi scheme. Though these cases vary in severity they are still cheating, and most everyone has done it at some point in their life.
2) Driving on the freeway causes a strong temptation to cheat because virtually everyone is going well above the speed limit, unless their is a cop their to slow them down. Even if a cop is present, the second they leave people are back up to speeding again. Though the people that are going the speed limit, although not seen often, are considered an irritant to the people around them.
3) I agree that cheaters never win and winners never cheat. My belief is that you can not be a winner without a clear conscience, therefore even if you were to win by unethical means, you would still not be a winner in my mind. People who ethically achieve a path to success are considered winners by me. Although their are people such as Bernie Madoff who cheat and win, their lives will never be totally complete because of their wrongdoings.
1. I agree because it is very important to society. Oftentimes in order to get ahead you have to go above and beyond. People that are aggressive or try to bend the rules to find their own way tend to do much better. Ideally, it would be better if nobody cheated; however, we do not live in a perfect world, and it would be ludicrous to ask someone to not try to get ahead in life.
2. Almost nobody drives the speed limit on the freeway. They are cheating when they do this. This is a perfect example of how pretty much everyone cheats. Also people usually will not get caught. This proves that people will always cheat when given the chance.
3. I stronly disagree with this. Cheaters can be the biggest winners in our society. Many of the all-star baseball players of the past cheated through use of steroids. If we are talking about the moral winnings, then yes. Cheaters never win. But if a person doesn't care and won't feel guilty at all then what's to stop them? If a cheater feels no remorse and he is helped in the end, then the cheater has one. Because of this cheaters do in fact win and winners do in fact cheat.
RamRod
1.It is an integral part of human nature to find loopholes and ways to go around the rules or standards. Motivation can be money, survival, and other natural needs. Upon this basis, we can determine that the society upheld by laws needs police officers and other law enforcement as it is natural for humans to disregard laws, if no enforcement of these rules is present.
2.In the middle of the freeway, with no othe representation of consequence or endangerment of other people, citizens use personal morality standards to determine their actions. Upon this we can determine that when presented with limited rules, we tend to take advantage of the strength of the system of law. They determine that without consequence, cheating the speed limit has no effects on anybody else and is perfectly okay.
3. My "friend" has cheated on his girlfriend an innumerable amount of times. She loves him very much and I feign interest for the image and perks of dating her. I am currently having dozens of affairs with women and am high on life. This "high on life" drug is similar to the drug known as "Charlie Sheen" and if anybody else takes it they will die. My friend feels no remorse and is in fact "winning" due to his "pimp-like" lifestyle and the satisfaction he gets from my affairs. He may have to pay child support for his 37 children, but other than that my life is winning and he is winning, ergo cheaters win.
1) I agree with the statement cheating is the bedrock of human society. Many people are found to be cheating in order to gain competitive advantages on those who oppose them. This is seen in the classroom, in professional athletics, and in politcs.
2)Driving on the freeway examplifies te strong temptation to cheat because of peoples' reluctance to obey the set speed limit. People shouldn't drive faster then the speed limit but most if not all people do at some point in order to "cheat" their expected time of arrival from point A to point B moving as fast as possible between said points trying to avoid the eye of those who enforce the rules. As other cheats do.
3) I do not agree with the statement cheaters never win and winners never cheat because "cheats" outside story-book fictional plots don't always fall at the hands of the good guy. In professional sports cheaters win champioships, advance their careers and are often payed higher then athletes who do not cheat to bolster their performance because of this enhanced unnatural performance. Politicians cheat the public by gerrymandering reelection districts in order to influence party selection.
Ryan M.
I agree 100% with the statement. I challenge someone to find a person who hasn't cheated at least once in their life. It's easy, and as humans we are programmed to find the path of least resistance. Tell me everyone hasn't peeked at someone else's scantron, or even picked up some loose change on the ground. Think about it, that money isn't yours. It belongs to someone else, and yet you still use it just like you would use somebody else's answer on a test to get what you want. Every person has a will to succeed, and if cheating achieves our goal, it is in our nature to do so.
Driving on the freeway demonstrates temptation to cheat in a pretty obvious manner. Does society always abide by the speed limit? Absolutely not. The speed limit is a rule, and exceeding it is breaking a rule, but if you feel you wont get caught, you are willing to take that risk and cheat. Its simple, one is willing to break a rule (cheat) to get what they want, which, in this case, it to get somewhere faster.
Unfortunately, I am going to be pessimistic for this response, and it might not even count as pessimism, rather realism. Society does not maintain high enough standards and morals for the statement "Cheaters never win and winners never cheat." I believe cheaters get away with cheating every day, go unnoticed, and win. They might not be winning in the long run, as they have made it harder for themselves, but in the short run, they achieved their goal if they weren't caught and punished.
Shawn D.
1. I agree, many people have cheated to get to where they are; sometimes it may even be deemed necessary to cheat. Event the most moral, or honest of people can be caught cheating, it is as human as feelings of happiness or jealousy. There is a constant temptation to cheat in today’s world, and it can often lead to monetary benefits or other rewards. Humans also love taking risks, and cheating is just another risk, if you get caught, you lose, but if you aren’t caught it may be worth it.
2. Driving on the freeway can demonstrate a temptation to cheat because of speed limits. The posted speed limit is generally slower then the actual speed of traffic, and the faster you speed on the freeway, the faster you get to where you are going, and the happier you are. However this is cheating, and it is a risk with a punishment if you are caught. Most people generally succumb to the temptation to speed or cheat when driving on the freeway.
3. No, I do not agree with this statement. Although cheating is not the moral or “right’ thing to do, sometimes people who do cheat end up winning, just look at star athletes who have taken performance enhancing drugs, or the rich stock broker who cheated on a college exam. However, this is not always the case, it can go both ways, and in the end it comes down to risk vs. reward, and if cheating is worth it.
Aaron R.
1) I would agree that it is human nature to find the easiest possible way to complete a task. Therefore, I would also agree that cheating is part of the bedrock of human society, if this is what one would consider to be cheating.
2) When driving on an open freeway with little to no traffic, it is very tempting to drive at a speed above the speed limit to get to the destination faster while enjoying the open road. This could be considered cheating because you aren't obeying the law, but also demonstrates how tempting cheating is.
3) I think that cheaters always win when there are no negative consequences for cheating, or when the negative consequences were not enough to negate the benefits of the cheating. However, this is very rare. For example, if a student copies a classmates answers on a test, and doesn't get caught, this may be considered a win. However, the student really may not have won, because the classmates answers may have been incorrect, and the student is not learning the material that could be necessary later in the course for an exam, or material that could be useful in future classes or in life in general.
Saif L.
1. I agree with this statement. Mankind is, in fact, extremely fond of cheating and always has been throughout history. Although hard work and obeying the rules can help one in life, cheating often provides an easy, albeit risky, way to get things done. It is almost impossible for a person to never tell a lie in their lifetimes; even if a person does tell the truth, there is always a temptation to cheat. If you look at history for an example, I would say that the island of Manhattan really was never worth a few beads and cloth that the Europeans paid for it.
2. When you drive on the freeway, you are usually tempted to cheat. Though the speed limit is usually around 55 mph, its human nature to want to accelerate beyond this number—especially when most of the cars around you are speeding past the speed limit. Most people want to get every task in their lives done a little bit faster, and speeding on an empty highway is the perfect example of this.
3. I don’t agree with this statement simply because the word “never” is present within it. I believe that cheating has both its pros and cons. The pros of cheating are, obviously, that you can accomplish something easier than by only following the rules; however, the downside to cheating is the risk involved with it—the risk of being caught and punished. While there are numerous examples of those who cheat and get away with it, there are also examples of those who cheat and are punished. The word in the sentence should rather say, “cheaters sometimes win and winners sometimes cheat,” for it to make practical sense.
Arnavi V.
1. I agree with the statement that cheating is part of the bedrock of human society. Although many people fail to accept this fact, it is true. It has become the basis of our society because people want to find the easiest route to a solution and that route usually involves cheating. The cheating only exists because people are looking out for their self-interest and everything seems easier by cheating.
2. Driving on the freeway demonstrates the strong temptation to cheat because I am absolutely certain that most people exceed the 55 mph speed limit on the LIE. The excuse to cross that number is that everyone is doing that and if everyone can do it, why can't they? Everyone could drive at the speed limit, but everyone wants to cheat a little bit and save their time driving to their destination.
3. From today's stand of point, I disagree with this statement. There are countless winners who have cheated in some shape or form. The cheating doesn't have to be anything major: someone could just have shortened their work by finding certain minute pieces of information online. Most of time, the cheating is intentional, but it is unfortunately still cheating. Moreover, cheating is a relative term, for example, one might say that a student going to extra help has an advantage over the other students because he has spend extra time with the teacher to explain the information. Therefore, that student cheated. To the students who didn't go to extra help, it looks like cheating because they didn't get that extra information, but to the other student it is a form of studying since they initially didn't understand the information. Now, is going to extra help a form of cheating, too?
I agree with Meagan when she says that many cheaters take pride in what they do. I think that this is one of the main driving forces to cheat for some people. When someone cheats without getting caught, they're getting over on someone. To the cheater, this represents an immense thrill that makes them feel somewhat invincible. I think this is what drives people to continue to cheat. It makes them feel superior, and as if they can do whatever they want. I think that when someone gets caught in the cycle of cheating to get a "high," they are destined to get caught. The consequences only get worse as time goes on.
I agree with what Angelina said in regards to the second question about people having the desire to cheat while driving on the highway. I think that when a person cheats or when a group of people cheat it often leads to other people cheating as well. If one person receives a significant advantage by cheating, other people will have a stronger desire to cheat in order to receive the same advantage. The competitive atmosphere of our society, urges more people to cheat because people feel the need to get ahead in life by any means necessary, which is why cheating is so prevalent in our society.
Kaitlyn H.
I agree with what Alex said in response to question three on the quote " Cheaters never win and winners never cheat." Many people who cheat do get caught, but many do not. Even though by cheating and winning, a person has really not achieved anything, they have still won on paper and according to those who did not know they cheated. If one person was to cheat on a test and get a 100, and another person who put in the hard work to study took the test, and received a 100, the person who cheated will not have as much knowledge in the long run, but both of them technically have a grade of 100, on paper.
I agree with Brian that often one's mental anguish is not enough of a consequence to defer some from cheating. Many have commented here that cheaters never win, even if they do not get caught, because they have to deal with a guilty conscious. For some this is true, but I believe the majority of people who cheat justify it to themselves in a way to avoid feeling guilt. Many of the MLB players who did steroids claimed they did it because everyone was doing it, and they were not going to be the one to stray from the crowd. Others lie and cheat and justify it by claiming it's their only chance for survival. I believe that for most cheaters, a guilty conscious is not a factor.
I agree with Eric in his response to question #2. On any given day, people knowingly break traffic regulations by driving faster than the speed limit. However, since everyone else is doing it, nobody perceives the action as “wrong.” As a result, practically everyone is driving 70 miles an hour on a 55 mph speed limit. For someone to actually abide by the speed limit, it would create traffic, especially if the road in question can only accommodate one vehicle at a time.
Aaron R
I agree with Shawn that people who would generally be considered "honest" can often be caught cheating. I would also agree that people love to take risks - especially when the benefit of those risks clouds our minds and makes us blind to the consequences. This is also true with driving on the freeway over the speed limit - which is a risk as far as safety and the risk of getting pulled over for speeding, but we choose to do it anyway in part because of our love of taking the risk that could potentially allow us to reach our destination in a shorter amount of time. I don't agree though when Shawn gives evidence to suggest that when cheaters when, they win completely, because there is almost always a negative side to cheating, and although it may appear that someone has won by cheating, they almost always face negative consequences, even if that consequence is simply guilt or the overwhelming fear of being caught.
I agree with Veronica's responses. The success we achieve from cheating entices us further to cheat in the future. Since the easy route worked for someone the first time, it is hard not to take the easy route again that should lead us to the same result if we don't cheat. For the third question, Veronica brings up a good point: the statement includes the word "always" and "never," which makes it hard for us to agree with that statement. Hypothetically, the statement should be true because cheaters should never win. But, cheating does become relative. Some people like the speeding car who didn't get a ticket won by cheating and on the other hand, the other car got caught by cheating. In our society, it is possible that cheaters can win, although they can lose sometimes.
Tatianna M.
3/27/11
I agee with Bess when she says that she wishes she could say that cheaters never win and winners never cheat because I feel the same way. In addition, I agree with the fact that cheating is the bedrock of or society especially in todays competitive society where everyone needs to be the best.
I agree with Mark, for his answers to all three questions. The main point he brought up that I hadn't thought of is how, in certain situations, people might be pressured to cheat rather than just deciding to cheat for pleasure. This offsets the entire perception of cheating from my point of view: I now have to factor in the amount of people who cheat because they are weak willed, not because they find pleasure in it. In fact, I feel worse when pressured to drive over the speed limit than when I get to my destination later than expected because I'd driven the speed limit. He also mentions that cheating makes winning a lot easier, which I agree with because he is defining winning in the technical sense of the word, not the moral sense.
Kelly D.
I agree with Brian R. when he said that people have a tendency to remember those who hurt us or cheat us because it is normal to be good. I think a lot of people focus on the negatives in society rather than the positives. This is why in the media you tend to see more negative news reports than good ones. It is more interesting to people to see what is going wrong than to see what's going right. Sadly, you are more likely to see a story about someone cheating and gaining something from it, than someone who worked hard to get somewhere in life.
Alex T.
I agree with Eric’s statement that selfishness goes hand and hand with cheating. People selfishly desire to get ahead in life, even when they know that what they are doing is morally wrong, and will undermine the achievements of a hardworking honest person. I also agree with Megan’s statement that our country was designed to limit and not tolerate cheating; however, without cheating, many aspects of our society would not exist. For example, think of the millions of jobs that would be lost if nobody cheated. There would be no principals, disciplinarians, cops, detectives, guards, alarm companies, or even The IRS. Despite the obvious fact that our civilization as whole would become extremely boring, our society needs cheaters because without them our economy would collapse due to lack of jobs.
Ryan
I agree with Andrew's statement about people rationalizing their own cheating because they feel the benfeits of gaining that advantage through cheating outweighs the risks and consequences of getting caught cheating. I feel like society only catches a fraction of cheaters, and exploits an even smaller percentage of that. This meaning that the majority of cheaters go undetected and prosper as a result of their cheating ways. As unfortunate as it is, it is true. Again going back to the use of steroids in baseball, hundreds of players have used performance enhancing drugs, however only a handful have been caught and there are only a dozen or so that have been punished for their actions.
Brian C.
I really liked what Ryan M. said in response to question #1. We really are programmed to find the path of least resistance, and it is amazing that we may not even realize that we are cheating and that we are actually doing so because we act on instinct. Our eyes may wonder around looking for the grey slash that would give us the upper hand on a test. I never realized that picking up loose money was cheating until I realized that I'm taking it from somebody to use at my pleasure, just like what Bernie Madoff did. People are opportunists and they will take what they can get given the right circumstances.
I agree with Pat H's statement regarding question number 2. I have yet to meet anybody who actually drives 100% under the speed limit or at the speed limit on every road. Whether it is a cop or someone who decides these speed limit, I still do not know anyone who drives under the speed limit. This definately reinforces that people tend tend to cheat on the freeway. Also, he brought up the statement, "Give somebody and inch and they'll make a mile." I believe that is a perfect declaration towards this. People do tend to cheat on things like this, and some people really take full advantgae of it.
Rob Bernardini Commented...
I agree with what James Kemper said in that cheating is an unavoidable part of society and is always on the minds of others. The sole reason as to why laws exist is because of not only violence, but because cheating can sometimes hurt others. On the other hand, I disagree with the opinion that society is more effcient without cheating. I envision cheating more as a creative way of thinking and a way to accomplish more with a smaller opportunity cost of time. If people cheated more, the government and authorities will see the flaws in the law and make them much more effective for future years. In
addition, a society with more room for cheating can make people possibly take more risks and therefore produce more output that can benefit others.
James K
I agree with Ramrod’s response to question three. Charlie Sheen is a shining example of how cheaters get more out of life. While there are some drawbacks to cheating, like child support as mentioned in the response, the advantages far outweigh the consequences. Without cheating, there is no excitement and life, and winning without risk isn’t winning at all. It’s what you get out of the experience that makes you a winner. I applaud Mr. Sheen for living life to the fullest through cheating and eagerly await Mr. Ramrod’s future posts.
I agree with Andrew and Brian. Cheating is almost never deterrerd by one's own self guilt, the only barrier between the confines of society and complete chaos is the fear of the consequence that may follow the discovery by others of your cheating. People only show remorse for cutting corners and taking unfair advantages over others when they are are caught. It's as if they have no conscious and no regard for others debilitating until their egos and reputations are at stake. Would Richard Nixon have handed over the recordings in the watergate controversy if he hadn't be ordered to by senate? Would Marion Jones forfeited her olympic gold medals if she hadn't tested positive for performance enhancing drugs? Does the man who drinks and drives and does not get caught turn himself in?..no.
Mark S.
I have to agree with Meagan M on question 3. Not everyone is ashamed to be a cheater! Yes, society may view cheating as wrong, but that doesn't mean cheaters have to feel guilty. Some people couldn't care less; the reward they get from cheating outweighs the consequence. To a great number of people, a win is a win, no matter how it is achieved. For example, i just participated in a mall scavenger hunt this weekend. There were a number of items on the list that my team was able to find loopholes in. One item on the list said to get "a video of a team member asking for an employment application." Well, that was pretty vague. My team took a video of my team member asking me for an employment application. The list never said we had to actually recieve one or even ask an employee at a store. No other team actually got the points for that one, but my team team did. Some may call that cheating, and it very well might have been. The point is, my team bent the rules and it payed off. Am i ashamed of that? Absolutely not! My team won and I am proud to be the team member that found that loophole. Whoever says cheaters never win, you are dead wrong. This post was made by a cheater who often wins because of his ability to bend the rules.
John S
1)I agree with the statement that cheating is part of the bedrock of human society, because people are mainly focused on self-interest and about their own well-being. I believe that main reason people cheat is not to harm others but to better oneself.
2) Driving on the freeway does represents the strong temptation to cheat because in fact many drivers end up disoeying the law and drive over the speed limit. This sort of cheating is accepted by the public. The Long Island Expressway speed limit is 55 mph. The average driver drives about 15 to 20 mph over that speed limit but the public and even police accpet it because it is reasonable to do so. This sort of cheating, in my opinion is acceptable because its a rule that is unreasonable and the general public agrees with it as well.
3) I do not agree with the following statement. Obviously there are winners who have cheated and cheaters who have won, but I believe that it isnt always the case. For the most part, I believe that cheaters end up losing and their lies catch up to them eventually. Although that I believe that everyone cheats in someway shape or form either it be unintentional or intentional. But the cheaters who base their winning off cheating end up losing.
Sam g.
I disagree with Pat H's response to question 3. I believe that in some cases cheaters do in fact win. In addition, I believe that most of the people who cheat don't feel any remorse for the success he/she gained from cheating. For example, a student in high school won't go home and feel an emmense burden upon themselves if the student had gotten an A on test he/she cheated on. As long as the person doesn't get caught and gains success I think the cheater could live with themselve. However, I will agree with the part of Pat's response that claims that people that work hard to gain success will feel .more satisfaction than a person that cheated.
In response to Mark Sibley:
Sure, cheaters don't have to feel guilty, but they should. This just goes back to the question over the true nature of humanity; are we incessantly good or bad? Based on your response, I would say you epitomized the bad nature of humanity. In response to your example, that's great on the win, but must everything be about winning? I know its surprising for me to be saying this, since I am a very competitive, but I guess I don't find a dirty win to be a win at all. It's just a hoax of cleverness, when in reality, no one actually admires a winning cheater do they? Did people admire Bernie Madoff for cheating millions of people out of their money; Did he get a pat on the back, followed by a "well played"? No, he didn't. Cheaters don't feel guilty about winning because they obviously do not care about anything but self pride and value. I'd prefer to be a loser who at least has morals.
Angelina S.
I agree with Arnavi's response to question 3 that cheating is a relative term. While certain actions are very clearly cheating, such as copying answers on an exam, there are other situations that are not as easy to define. If you are asked for help and you withhold information to give yourself an advantage on an exam or assignment, could that be seen as cheating? The issue of speeding is also questionable, because speeding could be an attempt to take advantage of a law that is not always enforced, or a reaction to pressure from other drivers and not necessarily cheating. Classifying cheating really depends on a person’s individual morals.
John S
I agree with Steve G's answer for question number 3. I have to agree that cheaters who win will not feel the fulfillment and the satisfaction of victory in the long run but cheaters at times do win. A winner that wins without cheating will have a clear head and the satisfaction of wining the right way.
James C.
With regards to question one, I agree with Saif. If you look through history, you can find multiple instances in which cheating has occurred. A lie can be considered cheating if it is of high enough degree. Look at things such as the Watergate Scandal, or Tea Pot Dome Scandal, both big-name incidents which we now study because of their impact in history. As Saif said, cheating arises from the temptation to do it and the benefits that come from it, however, it is always the risks and punishments that outweigh the benefits of cheating.
In response to Mark S, I disagree with his statement about cheating for question number 1. He states that the bedrock of human society is law and order, and that some people break the law but not all. This may be true but cheating is not only taking into account law breaking, but also the little incidents of cheating that occur every day by people of various ages, things like lying, stealing a pencil, or cheating on a test. So saying that cheating only abides to laws is inaccurate in my opinion, I believe that the small things matter as well.
Mike L
I agree with what Mike C said especially for number 3. There are many instances where the cheaters do in fact win. His example of the New England Patriots works perfectly. However, there are also examples of how cheaters do lose sometimes such as the Derrick Rose example. So essentially, winning is really a matter of finding a way to cheat without getting caught. Or have a really good public relations team and do whatever you want.
In response to Chris B's response to your question #1:
I completely agree with his answer. The human race as a whole can not be defined by a few individuals who do a certain act and get caught doing it. When we look at how the public views these cheaters, we see the common denominator coming down to hated. Bernie Madoff is arguably the most hated man in the country and Martha Stewart became a villain overnight after hosting a home design show. So, do we cheat? Yes. Are we made genetically coded to cheat? No.
Shawn D.
I Disagree with what Graig said about cheating not being part of the bedrock of society. Cheating may not be the most moral way to achieve a goal, and i think most people achieve their goals through more conventional methods, and not cheating. However, i think everyone has cheated at some point, even if it was just in one small case, and also cheating is now a new phenomenon, it has been around a while. therefore i think it is most definitely part of the bedrock of society.
Mark S.
In response to Teddy S.
Maybe we have a different view of winning. You say a win doesn't count if you cheat to get it. The way i see it, a win is a win (whether you cheat or not). Giving up your morals doesn't make you less of a winner. And in some cases, you don't even give up your morals when you bend the rules. I don't feel guilty about the way i cheated. In fact, i feel clever. I don't think i had to give up my morals to find that loophole either. And I'm sure you don't expect people to feel bad every time they break the speed limit (cause i know for a fact you have). You are right that their are many instances where cheaters should feel bad about winning...but technically, they still won.
Also, in response to Alyssa.
I agree that cheating happens a lot in every day life, but it's a stretch to call it part of the bedrock of human society. Would life be very different if cheating didn't exist? Yes. Could society still go on? In my opinion, yes it could.
Tyler R.
1) I defiantly feel as if cheating is part of the bedrock of society. I think that most if not all people have cheated in some way during there life time, and it is usually due to peoples natural feeling to take the easy way out. I do also feel that it is not the foundation of society because there are also many people that work for their opportunities and their success, but there will always be many that cheat there way through life.
2) I think driving on the freeway is a form of cheating because no one actually follows the rules of the speed limit unless there is a cop in sight, so people are always cheating by speeding or breaking other laws such as not signaling when switching lanes.
3) I disagree because it is quite often that people will cheat and easily get away with there actions, which will lead to success, but I also feel as if cheating can often lead to future problems because when people cheat eventually it will get out and people will pay in the long run. I feel that there will always be someone that will know about the cheating so people will eventually get caught.
In Response to Rob,
I agree with Rob because I also feel that cheating is more risky, but there is always the chance that you can be successful by cheating and if you are in that small group you have truly taken the easy way out and still got the rewards of someone that has worked hard. I also feel that if you have dealt with the risks of cheating and have not gotten caught you have dealt with many hardships, similar to people that do not cheat and have to deal with the hard work.
I agree with Mark because it's true that the majority of time we are not cheating. Sure there are instances where we find ourselves in sticky situations and use cheating to get out, but in all likelihood the average U.S. citizen follows a strong majority of the laws that are known to him/her. It's hard for me to agree with cheating being a part of the bedrock society because of how little it has to do with the big things. Peyton Manning didn't cheat his way into being a skilled quarterback, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama didn't cheat their way to the presidency. I acknowledge that cheating exists and yes, it is something humans tend to do. However, in the bigger instances it is non-existent or considered taboo.
I must say I agree wholeheartedly with Arnavi's response to question 3, insofar as the fact that in the vast majority of cases it is difficult to determine what "cheating" is. If it is determined to be any advantage over another person in any activity, then one could say that any attempt at self-improvement is "cheating". I believe that our society today is too hung up on the avoidance of cheating. Naturally, obvious things such as plagiarism and what one could call classical cheating on exams in an academic setting are wrong in all circumstances, but things such as tax avoidance may be considered as cheating by some, also some types of outsourcing. By calling this situations and similar ones "cheating", people are essentially asking for those with innovative minds to sacrifice their ideas to level the playing field with those who either find such things oh so morally disgusting or simply are unable to think of such things. Again, I reiterate my original point, without such forms of "cheating", where would our society be today?
I agree with Ryan Schneider for a few reasons. Firstly, he is more man than any of us. He is talking about sports and that immediately constitutes manliness. This occurred when he was responding to number 3. The cheaters in society are not always obvious - I used to think Mark McGwire was the coolest guy ever because of all of his home runs and also because I had a Cardinals cereal bowl. Naturally, though, he was juicing it up the whole time, so now he's just one of many one-time superstars who is now a loser in the eyes of the public, except he is still making millions of dollars. But that's beside the point.
See, I can talk about sports too.
Eric G:
1: Cheating is nessicary in human society because cheaters determine how far we can press the rules before one gets caught. Look at speeding on a highway. At one point, some guy must have gone over 55, not been caught, found the loophole to better everyone, and now everyone does it. I wouldn't be surprised if the market economy works the same way.
2: Driving on the Northern State parkway especially is an example of cheating because of the way it is enforced. How many troopers do you see on the parkway? Over the past 4 days I have been running around from Nassau to Suffolk, 2. 2 Troopers in over 24 miles of highway is an inadaquate force to stop speeders. I knew there were no cops, I was speeding, so was everyone else, and when a cop was there, one person got caught speeding while the rest kept speeding past the speeder. We cheat as humans, enough said.
3: My example is that if you win, you had to at MINIMUM push the rules to a breaking point. Example, At the robotics competition, there is no limit to mentor participation in building the robot. One specific school has more mentors than the actual students, and they win almost every year. There is a strong assumption that the mentors built the robot, seeing as their machine always looks/performs rods beyond anyone elses. Did they cheat? It is a grey area, but there is question when data like that is taken. On contrary, cheater can lose. I cheat at UNO every time I play, and every time my grandpa always wins. Even with a starting hand of all wilds, I lost. It is a question of the situation and the magnitude of cheating, but you can lose and cheat, you can win and cheat, but you cant win and not cheat once.
@Chris B
Your statement on freeway driving i agree with. Even while cheating, someone will try to cheat more to overcheat you, almost like they are a better person if they cheat more. Well played, and well stated.
I agree with what Ryan said for question #1 in that cheaters, particularly in sports, often get away with the unfair advantage they have given themselves. In some cases, cheaters such as Alex Rodriguez get caught, and yet they still don't receive the punishment they really deserve. Alex served a suspension, but even today he still is thought to be one of baseball's best, and his reputation has not been tarnished. If people believe they can easily get away with cheating, or if they believe the punishment won't be that severe, then they will continue to do it.
I agree with what Angelina had posted for question number 1. Cheating is something that is so prevalent in our society that sometimes it is hard to take notice of where all of the cheating occurs. I agree with her statement that "there are different degrees of cheating" because people find different routes to take in their own life where they can get away with some form of cheating, be it on a large scale or a small scale. When people cheat, I do agree with her when she says that that do so to avoid "mindlessly following oppressive laws" and to further advance themselves like many other have already been doing.
I agree with Brian’s (Voldemort) answer to question 1. People ultimately cheat to win or reach success in an easier fashion. I think performance enhancing drugs used in sports relates to this. Although some athletes may have had great careers and accomplished incredible feats, many of them cheated by using PEDs. Players that didn’t cheat and respected the integrity of the sport that they were playing had to work that much harder and put that much more effort into their workouts/practice to even compete with the “cheaters”. I have much more respect for an athlete that reached his successes or goals through hard work even if they weren’t as great as a player’s that used PEDs. If you look at it like that, cheaters really only cheat themselves.
Saif L.
I agree with Andrew R. in his statement that capitalism encourages cheating. The fact is that our world is based on the concept of “survival of the fittest” in which there will always be those that will cheat in order to get ahead. This is the very concept of social Darwinism. I also agree with Andrew’s idea that luck decides who a real winner is. His example of steroids used in baseball is a perfect example of people who cheat and manage to get away with it, while others get caught. Saying a definite statement like “cheaters never win and winners never cheat” is completely wrong in this aspect, as chance often plays a vital role in this.
Ryan M.
@Andrew R.
I definitely agree with you regarding number one. I completely forgot to mention Social Darwinism, or the survival of the fittest. Capitalism is the economic system that creates social classes; therefore, it definitely promotes competition, and with competition comes cheating.
John B
I strongly agree with Mike Lau's answer to question 1 because it has essentially the same viewpoint as me. We both feel that many people cheat in order to get ahead in life, and this idea is supported by numerous examples from not only our answers, but also from various other classmate's answers.
Connor L.
In response to: Steve G.
1) In regards to deeming "cheating" as the "bedrock" of society, I agree with Steve. He states that, "Though cheating has become somewhat normal as time progressed, I do think that the majority of people know the difference between right and wrong and often choose not to cheat because of it." I agree because not only do I believe that people don't know that difference between right and wrong and are uneducated because of it, I think (generally) people are good.
2) However, in regards to speeding, I disagree with him. As I mentioned in my original post, cheating and speeding on a highway are two different things. One has to do with doing something at the expense of others, and the other has to do with (potentially) breaking the rules while no one's looking (this is not a Bernie Madoff reference).
3) Again, I agree with Steve. As mentioned in response #1, I mention that I believe that all people are good. I truly believe this. This doesn't mean that cheaters don't exist--it simply means that, although some people cheat, most people don't and that is exactly the reason why I don't consider it the "bedrock" of society.
RamRod
(EDITED)
@ Potato Buns (Mahoney)
You are never wrong in every way. Your entire answer is just plain not wrong. You deserve to be in AP Economics?? Everything you do is not wrong and this is no exception. Comparing picking up change to cheating is the best idea since pita bread. Thats the best I could ever come up with. What is this not amateur hour? I have just gained IQ points from reading that answer. Picking up discarded change is cheating as they have misplaced that change and lost it on the ground. There is no law to picking up loose change, so this is cheating after all as you are keeping lost money. What a non-novice. "Mahoney is easily the most influential economic figure since Adam Smith." -Oprah Winfrey. What a guy.
Also @ Eric Berner, your friend sounds really really handsome.
I disagree with everyone on this blog, besides that handsome sounding fellow named "Ramrod." With a name like that, how can his "friend" be getting all the ladies while he watches? This sounds like an absolutely ludicrous situation.
In all seriousness, Eric C is a chump. A Cardinals cereal bowl? Pfft, my Peter Rabbit cereal bowl gained me the attention of countless kindergarten concubines. We all know sports are less manly than getting affection from the ladies. Just ask Ramrod's "friend."
I also disagree with Khuram's point that cheaters never win because they are ultimately caught. Yes, but what about the time they spent cheating without being caught? During this time, aren't they cheating and reaping all of the benefits, unfairly gaining an advantage. What about those who never are caught? There are plenty of cases that fit that bill as well. I think that it is a completely farfetched idea to think that cheaters never win in life. Although they have to live with the results of their actions or guilt, they still benefit greatly from cheating.
Hey Eric B, I see your point and all, but I was just wondering... Under what circumstances would you be obligated to bring a cereal bowl into school to show to your "concubines"? If you can answer that I think I might be able to forgive the audacity of your thinly-veiled fabrication. I believe the only 'chump' here is you, buddy.
Eric C., ever hear of this concept called show and tell? In this certain situation, an item that a young man/woman cherishes is shown to the class and they tell all about it. Lets just say when the Peter Rabbit bowl made it's appearance, the ladies went wild.
I would have to agree with Saif in light of a history of human nature. People are willing to cheat and lie even if it means that their fellow humans, their bretheren, will be hurt as a result of it. It is a sad fact that many feel the need to cheat and looking back on the statements that have been made, I feel that this is done for one of two reasons. First, there are some people who take the "path of less resistance" as Brian C has mentioned in order to take a short cut and avoid doing honest hard work. Second, as a result of these people and their unscrupulous actions many others have become cynical and jaded with human nature. These people in turn become bitter and angry and are sometimes led to the same decadent actions and so begins the downward spiral of society. It certainly would appear that cheating is the one value that the US has held on to during its 235 years of existance.
I'm sorry Eric B, I failed to account for the fact that you clearly had only lame items to show for show-and-tell. I think there are far more interesting things that a child could bring to school than a mere cereal bowl. Rather, I KNOW there are more interesting things.
1) Cheating is definitely a bedrock of our society. Many people believe that they can break the rules and not get caught. For some people it pays, for example John F. Kennedy’s father was a bootlegger in the 1920’s and put his family in a position of power to set up his son to become president. For others it does not work out for example Bernie Madoff. Rap Music glories cheating by boasting over laws broken and such nonsense. Christopher Wallace or aka Biggie Smalls was a drug dealer and now referred to as one of the greatest rappers of all time. His first single titled “Juicy” talks about selling drugs, smoking marijuana, and gang violence, but still the album “Ready to Die” went quadruple platinum with a number one hit. Our society praises a people like Wallace and Joseph Kennedy for being successful, however it also indirectly praises breaking the law or cheating
2) Driving on the freeway poses many ways too cheat and brings about many temptations. The obvious way to cheat is speeding, but there are others for example the HOV lane. Many people drive in the HOV lane when there is only one person in the car. I have even heard of stories where people have put dummies in the passenger seat to make it seem like there are two people in the car so they can get to work faster.
3) No I do not agree with, cheaters never win and winners never cheat. How many people have gotten jobs because they knew a person over the person who is more qualified? Isn’t that cheating? Even Bernie Madoff lived the majority of his life “winning” and while it took federal investigators until 2008 to catch him when they believe he started in the 1970’s. Madoff’s family is still “winning” and has money the SEC and federal investigators still have not found. Bill Clinton was not removed from office and still had a high approval rating after he got caught isn’t that “winning”. And if cheaters never win how do you know the winners aren’t just really good cheaters? Cough cough lance armstrong
Kyle k.
I don’t want to toot my own horn but I’m going to go ahead and agree with myself on question number 1. People cheat to get ahead in life and this comes with the capitalistic ideals of this country. The competition that is prevalent in the classroom and in the workforce incites cheating. We know that a minor infraction that will most likely go unnoticed is worth the self-guilt if it puts us at an advantage.
Kyle K.
1. I agree that cheating is part of the bedrock of human society. It is human nature for all people in society to have the temptation to cheat and many people have admitted to cheating at least once in their life. People cheat to get their way or to be at an advantage to others. However, cheating is dishonest and unfair.
2. Driving on the freeway demonstrates a strong temptation to cheat because although there is a set speed limit, the majority of all drivers go over it. Drivers know their limits, but choose to go against them. When a cop drives by, suddenly all the drivers slow down hoping not to get caught. This is an example of how it is human nature to cheat when given the opportunity.
3. I disagree with the statement, “cheaters never win and winners never cheat”. Usually, those who choose to cheat either windup getting caught, or obtain a guilty conscience for not being truthful. However, those who continue to cheat and get away with it believe they are benefitting from their choice. However, I disagree. For example, many students choose to cheat in school on tests or copy each other’s homework. With doing this they have saved the time they could have spent studying or doing their homework, and still result with high test grades. However, students who cheat are not learning or “winning” anything at all. When the student receives their grade instead of feeling a sense of accomplishment for working hard, they feel relief for not getting caught.
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