Observing Societal Rot

Reading of multiple "knockout game" attacks across the United States, about a homeless man beaten and having his dog killed by a gang of "teens", hearing of ever greater legalization of marijuana, finding welfare and Food Stamp rolls that have never been higher, and knowing the only path many Americans see to prosperity is through winning a state lottery at a time states are permitting ever easier access to gambling, I am left to ponder whatever became of out "Founding Wisdom"? Where are the values that made us great of thrift and industry? When did dependency overcome freedom? Why have so many embraced the despondency of the dole over the liberty of self-reliance and the work ethic? We are seeing DC as the unrivaled boom town just as history has shown us that Rome continued to thrive as the far-flung Roman Empire was collapsing. I pray that enough of the sinew of Americanism remains that we remain Americans.