Well, I share this feeling a bit, which is why I like companies that consistently pay out 3 or 4% dividends. Not just because I like the steady inflow of cash, but also because to run such a company you have to think like a businessman, rather than like a gambler: the management of those outfits is thinking not so much "how can I run the value of this company way up and then dump it?" but "how can we still be earning money five years from now?" The upper ranks of American business have a lot of gamblers right now, and we're positively encouraging them to overbid their hands.
In the long run I think the indexes are still the wise place to be, but I soothe myself by owning some of those boring churn-out-the-dividend companies too.