Word: self-interest
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Over the decades, national security became a uniquely compelling article of civic liturgy: legislators, bureaucrats and judges regularly bowed before its incantation, its aura of danger and patriotic self-interest. In its pursuit, public coffers coughed forth trillions of dollars and military budgets were gorged like French geese. It is hard to remember that national security has not always been with us as a national preoccupation. But it hasn't. Of late, it has become a hollow shell of an idea. It may be time to retire the term gracefully from service...
...recognition of nonmilitary aspects of security comes none too soon. If it ever did, national self-interest no longer calls for more arms, and it may currently depend on fewer. Now that some veils are being lifted on national- security obscurity, indications are that military facilities are major sources of toxic pollution. Military activity, it appears, has been undermining security of a physical kind, in the name of protecting the metaphysical kind contemplated by geopolitical threat assessors...
...dining hall manager's excuses ranged from saccharine ecological concern ("It would require so much water and energy to wash the dishes that it's better to use disposable plates,") to naked self-interest ("We don't have the employees to wash the dishes, and it would cost $40,000 to hire someone...
...their desire to abide by her wishes, what happens when a family's motives are not so clear? The state of Missouri is paying Cruzan's medical bills; but for other families the desire to hasten an inheritance or avoid crushing medical costs could add an ingredient of self-interest to a decision. The Rev. Harry Cole, a Presbyterian minister who faced the dilemma when his wife fell into a coma, admits the complexity of pressures. "If she were to go on that way, our family faced not only the incredible pain of watching her vegetate, but we also faced...
...freight. The business of baseball has never been better, and the sport is awash in cash. While an entry-level salary of $90,000 may not seem terribly shabby, it is peanuts in today's major leagues, where the average annual wage exceeds $500,000. Simple, slavering self-interest should have dictated that both sides do everything possible to keep the dollars rolling in. A new television contract with CBS will bring the owners $1.5 billion over the next four years. In addition, individual teams have cut deals with local cable-TV distributors that are worth tens of millions...