An Old Fashioned Idea--Accepting Responsibility

I've been thinking alot about our country, the people who live here and why
there seems to be so many problems facing America and I've decided that it
boils down to one thing.

There is one thing that seems to be missing-the fact that fewer and fewer
Americans do not accept responsibility for their own lives, livelihoods and
more specifically, their actions. 

What happened to the understanding that with actions come
consequences?  I guess I'm mainly talking about poor decisions
that bring about negative results. 

We are creating a new generation who expects to receive alot for very little
effort.  They seem unwilling to go the extra mile to achieve more than the
person next to them.  Rather than agressively work to change their situation,
they seem to sit back and live in a fog of self-pity and expectation. 

I have a great fear for the future of our country.  That this new expectation
will lead to a group of people that will take advantage of this generation of
unmotivated people.  A group of people who, disguised as caretakers and
providers for this generation, are actually modern day dictators.