Here is my question to you, what is wrong with America? I have my own opinions, but I am looking for other explanations as well. Here are mine...
1. World War II. Before this conflict the US was an isolationist country, afterwards, the country became the "world's police." Wars in Korea (sanctioned by the UN) and VietNam (in aid of France, and sanctioned by the UN) were seen as wars that the US shouldn't have been involved in and hurt the country's foreign appeal. As well, now, it seems that the Government is more concerned with foreign problems then their own, domestic problems. Whereas, when we were isolationist, we only worried about ourselves.
2. Politicians. Now, I know that you're thinking "he is going to say that politicians are corrupt." Well, you're right. Corruption in the Government is a huge problem. Back when America was great, the political leaders of this country cared more for the country than their own personal gain. Now, all that political leaders want is money and power for themselves.
3. Crime. The US has some of the highest crime rates in the world. You can hardly say that a country is great when a man can't walk outside his house at night without worrying that he might be murdered. Or shopowners have to bar up their windows so that their goods won't be stolen. Or you can't do something as simple as leave your car unlocked.
4. Mexico. Waves of illegal immigrants cross the border every day. Now, I'm not blaming Mexicans for America's problems, but they contribute. When you get illegals from Mexico, what else do you get? A bunch of uneducated fools that can't speak English (speaking of which, when I was in LA last week, we were at Burger King and they had a poster on their counter advertising "The Great American Burger", we promptly walked out when we saw that the rest of it was in Spanish).
5. Superpower. The US, as the sole world superpower, has such a great responsiblity to do everything perfectly. The Government is in the center of the world stage. However, our actions can only suit one half (theoretically) of the world. The rest start to create a bad image of the US (which they pass on to their children, who pass it on to their children, who pass it on...). The Government, trying to keep a popular image, always tries to do the "right thing", instead of doing what should be done.
There you have it, now, what do y'all think?
"America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our people." -President Bush, State of the Union Address