I see some merit in the original post, but only in the area of the feeling that we've lost something in the last 30 years that may never come back. I struggle almost daily with what I see as a lack of consideration for people and things other than ourselves. In my utopian youth, I observed our country as it demonstrated a "general" consideration of others, be it compensation, volunteerism, community service, etc, where money was important for the necessities, but it had a much less significant roll in how one behaved than it does now. In today's world, it appears that the acquisition of money or power is the single focus in life, and nothing else matters. Yeah, this was true in the past, but along with desire to acquire, came a "partner" call ethics and decency. Today, that "partner" is no longer present.
Another problem today is one side sees the other side as "they're taking something away from me", and will fabricate or exaggerate any defense possible to justify that feeling. This is difficult for me to watch is happen, in that I'm probably considered the "old white traditional" guy that is tired of hearing everybody whine about how someone's pocket is being picked. It was picked in the past, as it will in the future. But today, the tolerance for it is non-existent, even though we still thrived in that environment in the past, and will continue to in the future. I guess this is why the Republican candidate did not appeal to me this year. I saw him sway back and forth (more so than the other) to whatever his audience wanted to hear, and his lack of of empathy for anybody that was different (socio-economically). I guess I'm the fool who is still looking for what we had in the past, even though it may never come back.
So yes, our leaders are a reflection of us, and when we have idiots pushed to the front (by a very narrowly focused and powerful group of individuals) because of a distorted picture of who they are, then we (the electorate) are at fault for not separating the reality from the "show". My god, look at the money spent in this last election. That itself should tell volumes about where our priorities lie. We bitch and moan about four deaths at a consulate, yet don't give a moment's notice to the daily casualties in an unnecessary war. We are truly "lost".
