This exceptionalist view about America is as common as it is laughable. We're not the only way to live, even (or especially) as a wealthy nation. The US is growing more corrupt, and the decline of civic society is being actively driven by a cynical agenda of ultra-wealthy people and the corporations which they control.

The result: depending in which state you live, the US is becoming more like Brazil or Mexico (fast) or like Denmark (slowly, but it is happening).