"I could never be the puzzle pieces"

I have always tried to be a good person. I thought that's what the point of life was. I try to start each day with a smile on my face, hoping that it will make a difference to someone. I like doing things for other people. I will always hold the door, help someone up if they fall, say excuse me even if it wasn’t my fault. As I grew up, I started to realize that other people don’t do this. It’s not their fault really; being good doesn’t have the same importance anymore. "Look out for yourself and no one else. It doesn’t matter who you trample on to get what you want. Your happiness is more important."

Maybe I place too much importance on fairness.

I always try to figure out the correct course of action and what is just for everyone. There must be a balance. You can’t just think of yourself in life. Everything that you do affects everyone else, even in the smallest of ways. It is this way of thinking that forces me to be so reserved.

But why? Why don’t other people feel the way I do? Why aren’t they plagued with this need to be a good person? If I do something wrong, I feel guilty about it for a long time. It gnaws at the pit of my stomach. It hurts my karma. For me, being a good person is not a choice. If I’m not, I hate myself for it.

Why doesn’t anyone else feel like this? Have we reached a point in our lives where we just don’t care?