I have often wondered about volunteering in relationship with making the U.S. work. What little I remember about my Grandfather was that he was involved in a number of local organizations. My father was involved in a lot; Boy Scouts, on the board of a local Savings & Loan, teaching technical stuff at night, various jobs in various hobby organizations, cataloging exhibits at a local History Museum.
I have volunteered in a few things, but not nearly as much. I posted here about my experiences in in a group doing land planning to reduce local flooding — this was right after someone died because of repeated flooding.
Someone posted back, “Why volunteer? If they don’t pay you, it isn’t worth being done.” There was a lot of grief given by people who did not volunteer, but most of the suggestions we came up with were adopted by three counties, a dozen or so towns & cities, and several local governmental entities, so something good came out of it, too. The rules were uniform instead of just passing the water downstream as fast as possible and making it someone elses problem.
Is that why we are having more problems nowadays getting anything done? No one wants to get involved unless they are paid for it.
I tried to answer your question and came up with a long list. So I turned it into an article.
The Discouraging Reasons We See Less Volunteering
http://hub.me/ajTfW