How do we get back to 'neighborliness and gallantry' and not fear repercussions of trying to do good?
This is what being Catholic is (supposed to be) about. Martyrdom, self-sacrifice for love of others, suffering injustice for the sake of justice, we make up (perfect) in our own bodies what is left incomplete by the singular Sacrifice (it is left incomplete because God wants us to be like Him, and gives us many opportunities to do so, to die on our own Cross, every day).
Despite what atheists, theists, deists, and agnostics may argue, it is this, precisely, that the Western world as we know it was built on: before the world and separate from it is a trinity of persons in one Godhead, and they each have a singular, special relationship with mankind. Those first groups ignore the benefits that naturally came to them because of the many who held the faith that came before, and receive what was given as if it is theirs by right, and they can choose what is good and evil, as if 'I think therefore I am' was the earliest and most important part of the history of the world.
Insofar as you defect from the true measure of man - the Lord who is Alpha and Omega - and we pretty much all do - you replace the good of creation and recreation with the emptiness of the world, which rushes in to "fill the void". (Of course, no amount of emptiness can fill anything, but it seems people keep on trying!)
For those who hold a faith rooted in truth (over-against a faith rooted in the will, like Muslims or Protestants), you just don't live with that element of fear of the repercussions that can be meted out in this world by those of the world. A good death is a minor inconvenience. Certainly, it is best to live, but better yet to live in justice. A lawsuit or jail time for doing the right thing is, indeed, precisely what should happen to every Christian: if you're not getting in trouble with 'the world' for doing 'the Good', you probably aren't doing enough good.
So, I say: your expressed problem of what you teach your son isn't amenable to philosophical or cultural arguments, it's not something that can be answered by asking people, it's religious in nature.
Speaking to the "Jews who had believed in Him", Jesus said “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” This promise wasn't made to everybody, but to those who had been invited/intrigued by the presence of the Immanuel, God-with-us.