Seen from over the pond in Germany:

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.