Rome didn't end in a day. I slowly chocked to death for hundreds of years. We reached our peak at the moon landing, and it's been downhill ever since.
Someday, scientists will be studying the remains of America, and will talk about our going to the moon, and they will dig up millions of Incan Mexican indian bones and put the two together-- that 3-foot-tall American Mexicans went to the moon.
You're right on the money with the Moon landing peak. We had a goal, a national will and finely honed identity, a nation to be proud of, a commitment and then we imploded over time. We got fat & lazy...