Question:How do we get the general populous to start caring about their community and the people around them. If I had faith in them to be the proper custodian then I would be much more open to a different decentralized form of government.
We don't. They will either see the benefit of it, or they won't, but they won't be allowed to enjoy the benefits of a community otherwise. They will also get a chance to see what contributing to a community actually gets them, which is something they currently can't with the government doing everything.
The modern media culture shows basically messages that are narcissistic and self-centered. About getting to the top no matter how ruthless. The less morals you have and the more you will exploit yourself the better. How do we combat this message? How do we bring back honor in people actions? Not all people because there are always exceptions but in most people.
Subjective morals aside, contrary to popular belief, you can't actually get very far in business while being an asshole about it. The only way to get far in the private sector is to give others something they want. You can be a total asshole and still get elected or make money in politics though (e.g. Gingrich, lobbyists, etc). As for being self centered, again, the only way you can make your own self centered life better is by trading something with someone else, be it your money, your skills, or your good/services. So even if you are narcissistic and self centered, at least you gave a lot of other people things to get that way.