We inherited many good things from generations past but our country, having bought into the ideological egotism of the Enlightenment, is squandering that inheritance.
The country was founded upon good faith, and the (hopeful) expectation that public service would continue to be an act of sincere, selfless dedication.
Big mistake - almost like your characterization that it's "our" country. Or, it may very well be, but those who compete among a small group of men to represent "us" hardly have any loyalty to the native culture & population that forms the very backbone of the system they exploit for personal gain.
In that regard, we and our predecessors didn't squander anything - our birthright was taken from us by subterfuge and conspiracy, exactly as Jefferson warned: "I sincerely believe with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; & that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale".
By establishing a constitutional republic, the founders created a system that would break, rather than bend. That is, it was highly optimized for self expression and free will, but it had inherent fatal flaws that could easily (and were) exploited by any who wished to attack the foundation.
While there were numerous warnings from the founders, all of were seemingly ignored or failed to be taught. Now, I wonder why that is? Ultimately, the entire system was/is extremely fragile, one requiring just too much maintenance for the average man. The result is exactly were we find ourselves today.