"The Unraveling of America: Is This the End of the American Empire?" | A...

I see it as a generational progression.  In the first millenium and before there was little technology,  people were focused on obtaining peace through governance.  



Then came the second millennium, science and technology blossomed and began the process of fortune building along side of horrible wars that technology made ever worse.  The "rule of law" provided for peace and personal freedom while technological developments created high performing industrial and economic growth.  Throughout those times, 16th, 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries, there grew a healthy fear of totalitarianism.  As the 20th century grew into the 21st, the newer generations were so far from the "savagery" of the Kings and Noblemen, and/or the militarism of Hitler, Stalin and the vagaries of the "cold war", the nations guard dropped as such memories faded and once again mysticism, superstition and rejection of science and reason began to regain their appeal.  The illusions of Harry Potter, Star Wars, video games like Mortal Kombat, Pacman, Grand Theft Auto, Xbox and the like, stroked the imaginations of two generations and led them astray of the moorings of logic, reason, common sense, science and how these things are necessary if one is to have the freedoms afforded by the U.S. Constitution.



So, now the nation is easily scammed,  and bogus screeds designed to hold power by a few,  have undermined the economy and social fabric of society, because we didn't or couldn't insist on a unified response led by the science,  we've been forced yet again to spend massively to keep things together.  We've been spending and spending to stave off one economic disaster after another,  only to find ourselves confronted by one after another.  Each time corrections are made, they don't last long enough to repair the damages done before "we're off to the races again".



We, probably, still have one more chance at saving the nation,  but we're in such bad mental shape by percentages, it's doubtful any "paste pot and patches" fixes will be much more than as ephemeral as the Clinton/Obama work was.