What has happened to America, the land of the free and the home of the brave?

In his inaugural speech, President John Kennedy exhorted the American people to, ".....ask not what the country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" and the people were with him. How, then, have we gone from this yes-we-can/diy national spirit to this do-it-for-me/I-demand-my-rights generation in just short 50 or so years? To this first generation immigrant, this trend we are on is a dangerous one. We are going backwards, not forward. Heck, we are even offering terrorists from foreign lands rights that should only be reserved for US citizens and we are telling our kids they can divorce their parents! What is the incentive or the challenge for us to become a better, stronger or more "progressive" nation if we just want things handed to us instead of us working for them? Do we not understand that, if we keep on living like daughters of leeches and consistently ask our government to give us our wants and needs, we will loose our collective power as a People? That we will loose our identity as Americans? The hand that provides is the hand of power. We have, slowly but surely, handed over our power to our government! What has happened to America, the land of the free and the home of the brave? When will we wake up?!