To me, what is striking is that USA has always been glimmering example of a civilized society. An asymptote, if you will, of the curve of human progress. It showed other countries what laws are logical ("self-evident"), what is the best way to run an economy and what is the distilled essence of western civilization. Sure, when you look closer, you can always find flaws and internal-struggles. But the principles were always there as an inspiration.

Regardless of the geopolitical situations, it is fair to say that USA is rapidly reaching a point where it can no longer lay a claim on those principles. And I am not claiming that this happened on Nov 8, 2016. This has been happening steadily since the beginning of this century (Iraq War, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay etc.). And simultaneously it comes at a point where the long term sustainability of its other important contribution (free-market capitalism) is brought to question.

We are really living in an inflection point in history (Like end of European imperialism, fall of communism etc.)