Seriously, your generalizations have some truth, but you're watching too much TV. Your views would be true if you judged the country on tv, but does it truly fit the reality of what you see in your own neighborhood?(unless, of course, you live in Berkely)
The heroism of the firefighters is nothing new: I have seen local men who are volunteer fire fighters, who risk their lives running to car wrecks and house fires. I know "hot shots" who spend weeks on the line fighting forest fires. I know EMT's, doctors and nurses who put up with abuse, blood, guts, and even being shot at to serve the sick and injured. And how many simple actions go unnoticed everyday, neighbors who bring food for their sick neighbors, spouses who nurse a sick or handicapped spouse or child, women who refuse to abort a child even after pressure from boyfriends or parents, and who work while being both father and mother, and moms who pinch penneys to stay at home and home school on one income, when it would be more glamourous to work and let a daycare center do diaper duty.
The best thing about this terrible deed is that the elite are now recognizing the wholesome goodness of the average American...