While I agree with you, at the same time I am tired of soft Americans who can't suck it up in the face of adversity. There are plenty of people in the world facing war, disease, true poverty (not the pseudopoverty that exists in this country), and other things. Most of them do not slide into a life of hedonism and degradation. None of us will leave this Earth unscathed and we all make our own decisions about the direction our lives will take.
And it's strong family ties that allow them to overcome these circumstances. Were talking about kids that are raising themselves or being raised by television. How does a seven year old raising himself "suck it up?"