If anyone doubts that the world is going to the dogs,
they must cast another look at Germany . Since the eurozone crisis broke out a few years back, the intransigence of the German
government has often been explained by a cultural peculiarity – Germans would
never ever cross a red line, even at the cost of much personal or collective misery.
In Germany itself, the
problems of Greece
and the troubled Mediterranean flank of the EU have similarly been attributed
to a proclivity to cheat and evade sacrosanct rules. As it turns out, though,
the word “verboten” seems to have lost much of its traditional punch in Germany itself –
or at least its medical establishment.
A criminal investigation into transplant centers has
revealed that senior medical personnel has allowed scores of patients to jump
the line and receive priority access to donated organs in exchange for bribes. These
corrupt transactions have depriving others in Germany and other European
countries of the organs they might have needed more urgently. Which raises a
troubling question: if “the Germans” can no longer be counted upon to stick to
rules intended to institutionalize fairness in such a sensitive area, who can?