Smokin's Joe, you are an honest American and still understand what this country is all about.
That was a different America, where folks actually cared about their neighbors.
Today, most of the Amerikan sheeple care for little more than how much their 401k or their house is worth. What the fools fail to realize is that "more is less" here, since higher house values mean nothing more than a higher tax base and an avenue to become further enslaved to debt vie home equity loans. And it also means their kids and grandkids will have a tougher time buying houses since their wages aren't going up 10% a year. (But who cares about future generations anymore?)
The irony is that in the "old America", by caring about others and being a good neighbor, the materialistic benefits occurred as a result. And I'm talking real benefits here, not paper benefits such as your house going up by 20% in a year, or your Google stock doubling in value.
People today have no idea what real wealth is.