Yes, it’s dead. Like many other things such as sense of community and American identity, knowledge of history, a belief in God, etc. As it turns out, when, as a society, you stop teaching kids those things, they act accordingly.
Yesterday:
Just at the drugstore to make a small purchase. Two teenagers in front of me in the check-out. Clerk requires them to open their backpacks for inspection. Minor objection by the teenagers, but they comply. Clerk says it is to check they don’t have any alcohol in their bags! They check out and leave. I am next and am so upset by the violation of those kids rights I am speechless. Get to the car and can’t drive away...I have to say something. I go back inside and speak with the floor manager. Who I know on sight. She is just as surprised as I am and reiterates the clerk can’t do that.
I hope the matter gets taken care of. There is a standard retail protocol for stopping shoplifters, which the clerk and store did not follow, plus these teenager’s bags were clean. While they were long gone as the rest of the story went down, if we dont’ stand up for our Rights or the Rights of others then we just give them away.