Wait, isn't altruism that funny bird, or is it that prison in San Francisco?

It seems that altruism is pretty much dead in today's society. I really can't think of the last altruistic story that I read in the paper or heard on the news. I supposed you can count those millionaires that die and donate everything to a charity, but does that really count as altruism, or is it really just a last poker chip on the heap on your way out, to see if you can bride your way to heaven? You know, just in a case there is a God and well, whatever you had to do to get all those millionaires ever comes into question. While you're facing the Good Lord, you can argue...but I did wind up giving it all to charity?

Altruism, as I understand the definition, is the unselfish concern for the welfare of others. At this point you might nod and say to me...ah, yes, Mother Theresa, but she's dead. And um, hey, remember back in the day when all of us were encouraged to have some form of unselfish concern? I think society used to simply call it polite manners. Here are some minor examples: giving up your bus seat to a pregnant woman or elderly person; helping someone who needs it, cross a busy intersection; giving your place in line, to the woman with the screaming baby--ok, i know, these may not necessarily count as altruism, but heck it's a start, and can you tell me the last time you did any of those things or saw them done?

Instead we pretty much only care about each other if it suits us, and we don't have to go out of our way to help you. Why should we suffer? We certainly have reached the pinacle of the generation of me and somtimes you. Heck, we can tweet nonesense as if our opinions are interesting, "Dude, i'm totally sitting on the softest couch," and we can facebook ourselves to oblivion, "Katherine is going shopping to the mall. Sale at Macy's you'all!" and we can linkedIn ourselves and have the most interesting discussions, "So, can you really wear white after Labor Day?"

So, altruism, my dear friends, seems to be something left for decades gone by. When there was some form of care and honor and concern about our fellow man. But it's not gone completely, I'm sure some where, some day, it might be featured as an SAT question.