Young America Is Looking Out for No. 1 : Ethics: They feel entitled to whatever they want and will break any rule to get it. How well they absorbed the message of the 1980s!

Last week I found myself on television and radio interview shows, talking about the Josephson Institute of Ethics’ report, “The Ethics of American Youth”--rather, the absence of ethics in the current generation of 18- to 30-year-olds. My dire pronouncements on the moral decay of young Americans sounded almost too strong even to me, a product of the youth-reverent, nonjudgmental ‘60s. Surprisingly, according to the people who responded, my indictment wasn’t strong enough.

The Institute’s 80-page report, which synthesizes dozens of studies, original interviews and other data, labels a large segment of the twentysomething generation as the “I-Deserve-Its,” or IDIs. Their IDI-ology is exceptionally and dangerously self-centered, preoccupied with personal needs, wants, don’t-wants and rights. The IDI world view results in a greater willingness to abandon traditional ethical restraints in the pursuit of success, comfort or personal goals. Thus, IDIs are more likely to lie, cheat and engage in irresponsible behavior when it suits their purposes. IDIs act as if they need whatever they want and deserve whatever they need, as if winning is a basic right.

Strong words. I would not have been comfortable with them a year ago, but I had just emerged from a mountain of studies about the operative values and behaviors of this generation. Expecting a skeptical or defensive response, I had girded myself with solid evidence leading inescapably to the report’s conclusion that unprecedented proportions (though by no means all) of today’s young generation have severed themselves from the traditional moral anchors of American society--honesty, respect for others, personal responsibility and civic duty.

But when we went public, almost no one was concerned with the evidence--the data on massive cheating, resume fraud, assaults on teachers, venereal disease, pregnancies and materialism. Callers from all over the country agreed with the conclusions at once and told stories confirming our findings. And, while many young people sought to exempt themselves, they generally agreed that a lot of the people they know are IDIs.

Everyone seems to have an opinion as to who or what is to blame: the breakdown of the traditional family, resulting in spineless, valueless, overly indulgent or absentee parenting; the decline in the influence of religion; schools that don’t establish high standards and teachers who consider moral behavior too troublesome a topic for the classroom; parents who won’t back teachers--who, in fact, side with their children in discipline matters; corrupt and unethical business and political leaders and morally anemic institutions like Wall Street; drugs--drugs used by parents and their kids; the media that emphasize the negative or engage in “gotcha” journalism concerned more with the scoop than the truth.

Everyone is right; all of these things are factors. While young people sometimes generate social forces of their own, their dominating values are often simply an amplified echo of the moral themes sounded by the major social trends and events that create an ethos of the times. Unfortunately, the ethos of the ‘80s was shaped by selfish rhetoric and an unremitting parade of bad examples that degraded traditional ethical values such as altruism, honor and duty beyond self.

Young people in 1960 heard John Kennedy say: “Our national purpose consists of the combined purposefulness of each of us when we are at our moral best,” and “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.” IDIs never heard such invocations to morality and service. They heard instead “Greed is good” and “Look out for No. 1.”

Thus, the bad habits and attitudes of so many young adults reflect deteriorating ethics in society in general, exemplified by fallen heroes and fixation on the bottom line. In this system, ethics is for wimps, honesty is not always the best policy and cheaters often prosper.

The problem of deteriorating ethics is by no means confined to the young, but this generation is poised before our society like an invading army with values and habits that are likely to make things worse. Whether they work as bus drivers or bankers, their ethical laxity will cause significant future harm.

So what is there to do? There are no silver-bullet solutions, but one thing is clear: This is a problem everyone has contributed to and everyone can do something about. Parents, teachers and those who manage people in the workplace should accept responsibility, not only for what they have already done, but also for what they can do in the future to cope with a generation predisposed toward placing expediency over ethics. And, of course, we ought to ensure that future generations are more firmly anchored in ethical values.

Society, through its schools, parent organizations, businesses and government institutions, can start to do a better job immediately. Honesty and fair play must be re-established as fundamental ground rules of decision-making, not merely factors to consider. We have got to stop making decisions that subordinate ethics to expediency, that treat honesty and integrity simply as rules of convenience. Even the “little” things matter--cheating on expense accounts or taxes, lying about your kid’s age to save a few bucks or your address to get him into a better school, copying videotapes or software.

Cheating at schools, colleges and work must be stopped and cheaters must be held accountable. Teachers should be encouraged to raise issues of right and wrong, and parents must support them when they do. Employers should develop hiring, training, reward and promotion systems that place heavy and sincere emphasis on traditional ethical values.

And all of us need to more consciously model and exemplify the values of honesty, personal responsibility, respect for others and civic duty--every day, as best we can.

If we don’t, our society will, more and more, become a moral slum devoid of trust, charity and honor.