Outsourcing the Moral Values of America

466 Words2 Pages
Cullen Murphy’s concerns with outsourcing as seen in his essay “Let Someone Else Do It: The Impulse Behind Everything” exposes a greater dilemma with the values and ideals of Americans. It is evident, through Murphy’s examples, that people, especially Americans are fully willing to and have no problem with the idea of outsourcing. An example of this is Murphy’s explanation of how “A China based company called BackAlleyPass.com sells official-looking fake transcripts from real universities, custom make to suit every educational need” (Murphy 540). This example shows that Americans are willing to outsource a fake education, for their own personal gain. This undermines the entire ideology behind education; that one that works hard and is eager to learn will be rewarded by a prestigious transcript and will be able to do well in life. The idea of purchasing a fake transcript shows how Americans don’t value these concepts of working hard and achieving both social and personal success. Another problem exposed through Murphy’s text is how Americans don’t value their own personal and internal spirituality. Murphy references a spokesman for the Catholic Church and his response to the idea of purchasing outsourced prayers from India by reiterating his statement that “The prayer is heartfelt, and every prayer is treated as the same whether it is paid for in dollars, euros, or rupees” (Murphy 541). This shows a lack of understanding and true spiritual understanding on the part of both the Americans who purchased these prayers and the churches that sell them by even considering the idea that have value in the world of money rather than the world of spirituality. This loss of understanding for one’s own religion shows that many Americans are practicing religion for the wrong reasons, perhaps for convenience and social acceptance. Lastly, the values and ideas of family and

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