they seem to run on emotion here lately ... too much yin, not enough yang ...
Yes, this country and our founding principles of free minds, free markets, free society has ALWAYS been under assault. But the string of the pandemic and shutdowns, the riots and andtined lawlessness, the election, the shots and attendant us vs them tribalism compounded by the OSHA mandate, and other things, have caused usually stalwart citizens to adopt a "what difference does it make?" attitude.
I've seen borderline anti-capitalist enthusiasm here, with people CHEERING on a market crash. They've also supported the DOJ breaking up big tech (right...Garland will do the right thing), and the stupidity with the Russia-Ukraine obsession is as bad as the Trump-DeSantis foodfights. Soft bigotry has also become popular.
I believe people have thrown in the towel on their American morals, and have decided to join the rest of the herd. "They're just going to lie and cheat, it's all rigged, so I'm going to lie and cheat first before they get me" is the new normal.
Just like immoral men running Churches will never make me turn away from Christ, Bidet et al will never make me turn away from America.
Your mileage may vary.