Where have all our heroes gone?

When I was a kid, (I know, it sounds like everyone's old man) No, but seriously, when I was a kid we looked up to people. There were men and women out there who did amazing things. Some for mankind, some for civil rights, others for the arts...
Now? Politicians are nightmarish parodies of themselves, ranting, fighting, making the masses angry and violent, sports stars are disgraced and create role models for criminals and cheaters, movie stars go into rehab like it's the corner store...
WTF?

Where are our heroes? What happened to the stand-outs of society that we could watch in awe and say, "I want to do that!"
Our new goal appears to be getting on a reality program, being the one to lose the most weight when we are obese, eating worms for prizes. Or some shows have people over-indulging and being applauded to keep consuming vile amounts of fatty food.
When did I go to sleep and wake up here?
We teach our children to depend on video games as friends, lose contact with people because the text is so much better than the phone or being face to face...
Where did we go wrong? Do I have a hero? If I did, wouldn't I end up naming someone from the 50's? 60's? Oh, Lord not the 70's!
How about 2010? Anyone you'd like to worship? Any pop-idol-dance-star-fallen-celeb? Ewww! God help us!

Anyone who knows me well, knows I do get on a soapbox about certain issues. I can't help it. It's the fire in my gut. But along with our loss of heroes, is our loss of civility. Again, I'll ask, where have all the nice people gone? Have they left with our generation of heroes? What happened to "Thank-you" "You're Welcome" "Please" "Can I help you?"
I'm not talking supermarket employees here. I mean you and me. PEOPLE in general. We cut each other off in our cars, flip the bird when we're mad, curse, are rude.
Am I really getting old? Is this what happens when you reach a certain age? You think the world has become mean and lost?
Someone, please...tell me of a modern day hero. I can't think of one who has given back to life, society, the world, and had meaning. I'm not saying all is lost, woe is me. I just want to find stand-out people who are doing something wonderful. I want my eyes to shine again with that glint of glorious hope.
I don't know about you, but I can't watch the news. Some of the pundits on the 24 hr news channels are trying to destroy common decency. They're mad as a hatter, yet continue to spew their garbage. I think it's time for a hero.
Superman? Batman? Anyone? Hello?
.................?????

Oh well. No answer.
I guess we really don't have heroes anymore.
Maybe we should be heroes ourselves. Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we be nice for a day? Give it a try. Let me know how it goes.