I thought I'd share this email I received today from a reader who found my post yesterday interesting (and gave me permission to share it); we have a lot of cool folks that hang out here on the Slope:
I wanted to drop you a note to thank you for your post yesterday. It was not until this morning and your Crumb post that I understood the magnitude of what you had previously said. I will say that I am not a poster on your website but have been lurking for quite some time, and although I seem to be an optimist and do not fully buy into the perma-bear philosophy I enjoy what you say and how you teach. I have been with InvesTools since December 2006 and have had many changes in my life since I began trading. I am/was a residential homebuilder and developer in Alabama who started in investment banking out of school. I started a family business in 2003 with my father and uncle and we started building even though none of knew what we were doing. My father past away in 2007 and I was forced to slow down building a developing which in turn has been a blessing because I was not caught with much inventory. As of now, things are starting to fall in around us and it seems as though the only thing that keeps me sane is playing the market on daily basis. I do not have a large account so this does not pay the bills but it is fun.
Now the point of my email, I believe in what you said yesterday. I may only be 29 years old and have not had that many life experiences but at one point I believed in the American Dream. I left the banking world because I did not believe that what I was doing was right. I was being asked to produce reports that showed a predetermined value even though the true value was not there. I felt as though I want being honorable, so I left and started to work with my hands, an honest days wage. I went to Washington & Lee University where the values of Robert E Lee were instilled in every freshman and most continue to live by to this day. We were instructed to be honorable or to leave the school. It was a simple rule, if you are deemed to have done something that damages your honor you were kicked out of school. It was an Honor System that did not waiver in its punishment. We were asked to not lie, cheat, or steal. Most lived by this code, fake IDs were not used, you could schedule and take an exam anywhere, any time, valuables were left out in the open with no real fear of someone stealing them. This was a great place to live, most everyone lived by the same rules. How then can one expect to have a government that is going to guide you and "protect" you when they show no signs of honor. If the US government of any of its leaders applied the same principle that we did at W&L, no one would be in Washington. They have lied to the American people, the have cheated in almost every way possible, and they are going to pass something will be stealing from everyone. How can someone want to live in a society run with no honor?
