Worker Dies in Black Friday Stampede

I first heard it on Friday at the laundromat, about a worker at a Long Island Walmart who got stampeded over by a bunch of overzealous shoppers. Then hearing the phrase of how the workers are watching over the doors, to watch over the people, my mind went off into a tangent because it reminded me of the saying 'Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?' or 'who will guard the guards?'. It made me think of our government and who would watch over those who are supposed to be watching over us with the recession and the current state of our system. Its by no means perfect...then I wondered what the whole situation was saying about our society and culture that makes its people so deal-crazed that even when they were trying to clear out a path for help for the man the people continued to shop. What is it that makes people so obsessed with buying things? Is it human nature to want material things? Situations like these show a cold and very uncaring side of human nature where the focus is on yourself and it doesn't matter who is hurt or injured. We can live like this, most likely it'll get you somewhere, but such a philosophy takes away meaning because when you can't care for others, it makes the world a much lonelier place.
But I don't think that this is really undeniable proof about how society is, because there are also articles about human altruism and I think it can just as easily applied to the whole society metaphor. Its just more acceptable to focus on negative things. Since just as there are bad things like corruption or greed, there are also good things, like kindness and altruism. People are not composed of wholly one side of the spectrum but usually a mix of both. Like in The Secret Millionaire these millionaires give away 100,000 dollars of their own money to help people in need, but they also live like them and get to know the people that they would help and take on a new identity as the "average Joe". Its a real show for altruism, because it really changes them, the millionaires, and the people they help. The people live below the poverty line are people who have a a young daughter with cancer, homelessness, and are so thankful and so grateful for the money they receive, they become very emotional because of what the money means for them, it's like a miracle. For the millionairs the whole experience is "eye-opening" because they have never experienced anything like the things that have happened to these people and have never met people like that before. They're struck by the selfless people they meet,like Katherine, an old lady who opens her home for anyone who needs to eat, and takes care of many abandoned children from 5 years to 15 years of age. The stories are real, and how the people help each other is a very amazing experience of human kindness.