On Christmas Eve 2010, my grandmother received a gift from a hospice nurse who was helping with my grandfather's deteriorating health. Initially both surprised and embarrassed by the gesture, her emotions quickly changed once she removed the packaging. Only one pack of Ramen noodles was revealed. Embarrassment turned to confusion as she tried to understand what she had received. The hospice worker drove a 1997 Plymouth Voyager which she regularly complained about not being able to drive properly for over a week. She was wearing old, worn out clothes and my grandmother claims she had never seen this woman wear jewelry before. It was obvious that she was not rich. Even though she couldn't afford a gift, the nurse, in her kindness, did not want to show up empty-handed on Christmas Eve. I recognized societal inequality and couldn't help but think something was wrong. This selfless nurse, who sacrificed her Christmas Eve to care for an elderly man she didn't know before, couldn't even afford to repair her car. Even though she worked harder than anyone I had ever met, almost 60 hours a week, she was the one struggling to pay her bills. This is not the America of our ancestors. Over the past 100 years, America has been beset by a seemingly benign transformation that has distanced us from our national values ​​and caused us to ignore our individual sense of right and wrong. The United States was founded on the idea that if you are willing to work hard, you can succeed. For some this means achieving financial stability, for others it means becoming financially better off than their parents, but it nevertheless means that working hard today should pay dividends in the future.... . middle of paper ...... v. 2013. Why we shouldn't entrust our civic life to markets. Real. Michael Sandel. Perf. Michael Sandel. Ted speaks. Ted Talks, June 2013. Web. November 14, 2013. Zhao, Emmeline. "Best Education in the World: Finland and South Korea's Best Country Rankings, US Rated Average." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, November 27, 2012. Web. November 13, 2013. Zhao, Emmeline. “Dropout rates among minority and poor students are disproportionately high.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, October 20, 2011. Web. November 13. 2013. .