If he is just coming to this realization now, David has a very dim bulb to work with.
The basic moral flaw is mendacity--contempt for truth. This emerged as a force in the 1960s, fundamental to the counter-culture movement, which was the overt emergence of American decadence. The foundation of the counter-culture movement was self-indulgence, and it found mendacity and moral sloppiness convenient. Today, American decadence is a predominant influence in the U.S.A., and the results are obvious; look around. For a quick look at what mendacity and moral sloppiness are, turn on the TV set to any mainstream news channel.
The inflammation started with the progressives and Marxists of the 19th century. It merely bloomed into a full blown abscess in the 1960s.
Please remember that Bill Ayers and his wife were promoted to positions of power by powerful people of my father ( born 1913) and my grandmother's ( born 1894) generations. These two evil people had plenty of help getting to where they are today as so-called “distinguished” professors and that help didn't come from hippies.