Is this REALLY America?

I know my address still says United States of America but when I walk out my front door, turn on my TV, or pick up a newspaper I am hard pressed to find a resemblance to the country I grew up in. I am not sure when it happened, why it happened, or even how it happened but this country has definitely changed. I am curious though how the land of opportunity became a nation with entitlement issues. When did the American dream of 2.3 kids, a house with a white picket fence, a dog, and a station wagon turn into "I am owed everything and I don't want to work for it"? When did living on welfare become a lifestyle choice? I have seen those 2.3 kids become the rudest, most over-indulged, bratty kids in the world. And the worst part about it is that the parents get angry if you dare to say anything about their precious little angels! I really do feel sorry for them though because all we teach them is how to pass a test. They can't speak, write, or think outside the little box that is their own ego. Are they ever going to contribute to our society? It really doesn't matter because we have forgotten how to be self reliant. We rely on foreign countries for our energy, clothes, toys, and even the cars we drive but we then begin to wonder why we have no jobs. Instead of growing our nation we have grown our waistlines, debt loads, and prison populations. Instead of wanting to do better then our parents are only concern is doing better then the neighbors. We believe in sharing the wealth but not the workload. We appreciate nothing and waste everything. We scream for freedom but spit on those that provide it. Instead of family dinners we have become a society of drive thru diners. Our children have no imagination but instead depend on the creativity of video game writers to color their worlds. We used to have toys like teddy bears, jacks, and jump ropes but now we are not happy if the toys doesn't "do something". Kids used to go outside and play and ride their bikes but they can't do that now because playing in your own front yard is no longer safe. We can't protect them because we care more about the rights of the criminals then we do about their victims. Everything in our lives has become disposable from our cameras to our diapers to our spouses and children. We strive towards apathy because the only things we really connect with are electronic devices. Why send a letter when you can just text? Why learn to speak properly when the computer you are sending IM's and emails from has spell check? We have become a plastic society. Our money is plastic. Our food is plastic. Even some of our body parts are plastic. When the future archeologists examine the ruins of our once great society they will ask what kind of disease caused the downfall of such a great civilization. Little will they know that it was no biological disease. It was far more sinister then that. The cause of our downfall will have been nothing other then ourselves and our ignorance and want. Those are 2 children that have flourished and have never been neglected. The only problem is that they are not just in our present. They rule our future right along with our new deity, the Almighty Dollar. I really hope that I will wake up soon and find that this has all been just a horrible dream.