> This used to be a great country.
When?
When?
It seems like the US were (compared to the rest of the world) at their best from 1860ish to 1970ish. When they had great education for he masses, public health, technological and economic progress, a certain naive idealism, and the most comfortable middle class in the world. Things were, if not already good, pointing in the right direction. After that, selfish and cynical elites took over and society stagnated and fragmented.
The US had the or one of the best fed, healthiest, best educated populations in the world around 1900. That was a clear success and it didn't start then.