Now, other troubling questions arise. These are important questions, and need to addressed seriously. But no one would suggest that the solution is to roll back current levels of education, or ambition, or sense of personal efficacy. One central step is by building confidence in the community's leaders - whether we hold formal public office, or are otherwise in professions or positions of public trust. And one way to achieve that goal is to establish and respect a high, consistent and transparent set of ethical standards.
Ethical standards matter more, because they are questioned more.
You know it personally. There have always been jokes about lawyers - but jokes don't necessarily betray hostility, or even suspicion. What is different today is that, as with politics and other professions, the jokes about lawyers carry a hardening edge of mistrust. My own guess is that the profession was more respected then, whether you deserved it or not, simply because most professions and institutions were more respected then. Well, in this non- discriminatory era, the age barrier has been dropped.