Very well stated, you sum up my thoughts exactly in an eloquent manner.
I just remembered what she said to me when I received the papers - completely out of the blue (name is changed):
Me (tearfully): But I LOVE YOU!
Her: The Cindy you love is a figment of your imagination.
The US so many of us love is a figment of our imagination. It was gone a long time ago but it’s just taking us a while to realize it. But as things ramp up, more and more of us realize it.