Thought this was a good read and thought I'd share in case you had a minute or two.
U.S. Decline in Global Arena: Is America No Longer No. 1? - TIME

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Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

I fear for where our country is headed. We've become a country of entitlements for one thing. Entitlements don't help toughen a person up and make them more responsible. I know in our school system (my kids are 20 and 26) the main philosphy was not to hurt their self-esteem. (Seriously, I'm not kidding.) Don't give them grades until 7th because it might make them feel bad. (WTF?) How does that prepare a person for adulthood, etc... Let them write their essays just to get their thoughts out and don't worry about spelling and grammar until the older grades. A little of this is ok but our school system went way overboard. Heck, they didn't even teach long division. I just used that YESTERDAY when I was figuring something. No wonder are kids aren't preforming as well as other nations that put more stress on getting the job done. We may implode.

and most things have gotten way to "politically correct".
Very few want to take personal responsibility for their behaviours/actions!

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

And how the hell are we going to get out of this financial mess? Manufacturing saved this country before but now it's gone overseas. I get the feeling the govt. is trying to make it so we are all dependent on them for everything.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

Good point. Isn't that sort of what socialism is about? I want less government involvement in my life, not more. What happened to that pioneer spirit of being able to take care of yourself? Can you imagine if the country had to start over and the citizens had the attitude of a lot of the people now? We never would have become the great nation we are(were).