Yesterday, I listened to a broadcast of the Diane Rehm Show, where she hosted Maggie Jackson, journalist, author of a new book titled, "Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age" (Prometheus Books) and Rick Shenkman, author of "Just How Stupid Are We? Facing the Truth About the American Voter" (Basic Books). You can hear the broadcast at http://wamu.org/audio/dr/08/06/r2080610-20324.asx. Both guest made good points about the rapidly diminishing 'critical thinking' in our society. If you agree that 'critical thinking' is and has been diminishing in our society, then what are the contributors to this condition?

I've been reading Megatrends 2010 by Patricia Aburdene and find myself reflecting on my 17 years of corporate experience. I left a six-digit salaried position because I was no longer having fun. It was clear to me that decisions were being made based on fear, not company values. Have you had experience with corporate fear? If so, what do you believe feeds this fear?