In delving into the origins of the decline of common decency, Reich has a chapter entitled “Honor and Shame.” He makes the point that since sometime around the Reagan years, people began being honored for all the wrong reasons. These are my examples, not his, but I think he’s on to something.
“Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” glorified get-rich-quick athletes and movie stars who blew all their money on lavish mansions and exotic cars. Nobody asked, where are the investments in their former neighborhoods? Nobody asked, where are the foundations to send poor children to college? No, it was all me me me look how rich I am, I can light cigars with $100 bills.
Fame and infamy became synonymous. People started thinking getting your name in the paper (or more current, your face on TV) for shooting up a gradeschool was a laudable goal.