So much negativity amongst americans these days (ethical, fence, 9/11)
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I find there is very little to be happy about and I believe that the media is to blame for almost all of it. As people have said, they've been shouting non-stop negativity at the speed of light for years now and have a young, impressionable population fully programmed to fear the mere thought of interaction. The crap that kids and teens watch nowdays portrays this false B.S. drama as real-world behavior just because it's called 'reality' TV and this leads to even more dysfunction. Then add to the fact that children don't talk to ANYBODY because they've been indoctrinated since birth to believe that anybody who smiles and says hello is automatically some heavy-breathing pervert who is there solely to abduct and molest them. Take ALL of that and combine it with a population incapable of independent critical thinking who have grown up text messaging each other without any sort of true face-to-face interaction and you get a world-class recipe for the crumbling of society as we know it. I hate to break it to you folks...the end of the world isn't in 2012. It's already started. In a generation or two (tops), there won't be any sort of human interaction. You'll go from birth to death staring into a cell phone, texting and Tweeting and NEVER look another human in the eye. When a creature cannot trust its own kind, the destruction is sure to be swift and horrifying. I'm not a negative person but I just don't see it ending any other way. It is a sad state of affairs and I only see it getting worse.
Think of it as being a bit like the Titanic. A little water comes in and fills one compartment...chances are good that nobody notices. Then it spills over into the second compartment; the bow dips a little bit more and the rate of sinking gets just a little bit faster. Gradually, the water fills each consecutive compartment and the rate of sinking increases at an ever-alarming rate and by the time people realize what's happened, it's too late to do anything about it.
I agree a lot with the above poster, but I'll throw in a little different tangent to it - we are a very spoiled society!
Now, before the usual suspects start going off the deep end screaming about homelessness, hunger, health care, etc. - I do know it exists here and have seen it first hand - but, generally we don't want for much in this country. Seriously, I hear about not having Cable TV or paying a $1.00 service charge at an ATM as a national travesty!
We seem to have everything but are unhappier than ever....
I lived up & down the entire east coast over the past handful of years, and I noticed something very sad, people today appear less friendly than when I was growing up.
Even in some of the more Southern States known for their outwardly friendly behavior have begun to become less vocal and cheerful.
Some years ago I had a fellow Nurse (Well actually I was a Paramedic at time) tell me she noticed how I was always smiling, and I seemed very happy, and it's a personal and professional trait she really liked about me, she then quoted the phrase "Smile & Whole World Smiles W/ U" or however it goes.
So why is this folks that it appears most of us are becoming less friendly and more recluse in our behaviors?
Heck I even read a study that showed an alarming # of Americans would avoid stopping to check on a car accident, or if someone appeared hurt or was being hurt they wouldn't get involved, why is this, are Americans losing our way?
I watched the movie "Pay It Forward" some time ago and I truly believed that if we all could play some sort of nicer role in our country things could greatly be enhanced.
Anyone else seeing this in your part of the U.S./World?
As another poster pointed out, there's a complete mistrust in our fellow citizens. You mentioned being a paramedic... as part of getting my EMT license a few years back, we had to do a certain amount of ride alongs (which I'm sure you are familiar with ) and one of the paramedics at the station mentioned one of their friends (also a paramedic) was sued for sexual harassment because he opened a woman's blouse to administer CPR and do a quick check because she was unconscious.
She lived, then promptly sued him.
My dad stopped to help a man replace a wheel on his cadillac a few years back and the guy tried to sue him because of a 'scratch' near the wheel well that he swore up and down my dad did. The guy was extremely happy that my dad had stopped to help, then turned around and tried to sue.
Stuff like this, I think, is a big problem. We help, we get in trouble.
I think part of the negativity also stims from loneliness. I think we are a very lonely country. People forced to move far away after school to find work then separated from family and the only friends they've known. Plus there's so many long term singles and people constantly being laid off and having to move from one town to the next their entire life. Those that do work have long shifts thus there's little socializing compared to in other generations. Then the whole texting and internet thing is further isolating. People are so lonely yet even when we can get together as a group nobody knows how to hold real (verbal) conversations.
I think there's been a huge change in attitude since 9/11. We Americans feel much more vulnerable and antsy. No longer are the problems in the Mideast far far away, but right at our doorsteps. That's a huge revelation and has changed our outlook & our relationship with strangers. And let's not forget we still have 2 active wars that have consumed the better part of the decade & has taken a toll on the American psyche.
I couldn't agree more with you. I live in SC and hospitality is a joke. People need to stop listening to the media, they are idiots and they are brainwashing people.
americans have been programmed to not get involved. good samaritans are punished usually.
the grand social engineering machine, k12, has rewritten history to portray european americans as a shamefull wicked people, and the people bought it. lots of self hatred in america.
It is called divide and conquer. We are being divided up into groups to fight among ourselves while the wealthy manipulate our laws and economy to gain control.
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) and one of the paramedics at the station mentioned one of their friends (also a paramedic) was sued for sexual harassment because he opened a woman's blouse to administer CPR and do a quick check because she was unconscious. 
