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I would disagree. I think in some aspects we have gone down hill. We now teach to the heard more than ever before and I would say another thing we have done that could be considered bad is that parents now indulge their kids much more. When I was a kid you were taught to focus in school, work hard and learn something. As you got a little older and got into high school you were told to think about what you want to do for a living. If you said anything entertainment industry based you were told to get an education first so you had something to fall back on. Now it seems every parent is convinced their kid is going to be the next American Idol or the next Picasso. So in some ways I think our culture as a whole has declined.
I would also say that we have over-outsourced ourselves to the point that our potential economic strength has shrunk, but I would agree with Sleazy that much of this is due to other countries catching up with us. The internet has really leveled the playing field for a lot of people.
Still, I think this is a great place that is actually holding strong or on the rise. We are a country where anyone can make something of themselves. There are many countries where a kid born to a poor family will spend his life struggling to survive no matter how hard he works and tries. Here anyone can get an education and can go to college if they want and that poor kid can become a doctor or lawyer or engineer and make something of himself. We as a nation have potential. We were great in the past, right now we are average, but we can be great again. The world still looks to us for leadership, we just have to make sure we do the right things.
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