I remind them, uncomfortably, of suffering in obscure countries, suffering that could be alleviated by a little attention from our mighty super power. Liberal guilt is a wondrous thing, responsible, I'm sure, for many good things, including the survival of some animal species. There is still some imagination left, they think, therefore there is still some juice in the original American self-making machine. I reassure people that it's still okay to be American in an age when that idea is under attack. If it takes a Transylvanian accent and a few weird strands of paranoia to get that message, so be it.
Imagination is today's most valuable commodity.
Most people no longer feel in control of their time, which is being taken from them at a terrifying rate. Godlike corporations control the destinies of millions from invisible locales. The minorities' claims to difference are being swallowed by advertising quicker than they can be produced. The raw resources are no longer inert matter wrenched from below ground, but people and their lives. People are both the source and the recipients of this information, which is now stored in computer memory, but uses people as transfer switches.