America's Decline - Exchanging Motivation for Mediocrity

It used to be all about being the best. We were told to try hard, excel, and succeed - and if we were able to pull that off, we had the right to enjoy the fruits of our labors. We had the same expectations of our country as we did individual people- growing up I remember a collective feeling of national pride - pride when our astronauts accomplished a mission, pride when our athletes took the gold in the Olympics, pride when our voices were heard and decisions & laws were made because we believed in them.
Boy, things sure are different now, aren't they? I think it all started with standardized testing in the schools. Seriously. Tell a kid they don't have to be the best - just meet the national average & what kid is not going to coast instead of peddling as hard as they can? Those kids are now raising kids & they have either become so complacent or were dumbed-down too much to understand that they were cheated out of the American Dream. The same American Dream our country was founded on, the one that our current government - mediocre to be sure and not even close to average - is trying to erase from our history.
We went from a nation of power and influence to a nation of wimps - politically correct pansies who bend over backward to keep from offending or upsetting anyone else - silencing our own voices and denying the foundations upon which we were built so that everyone else would "like" us - and guess what?? They STILL DON'T LIKE US!! The only difference is that when we were a nation of power and pride we commanded respect - even if it was respect based on fear... NOW THEY NOT ONLY DISLIKE US, THEY WIPE THEIR FEET ON THE DOORMAT THAT IS NOW OUR COUNTRY & LAUGH AT US! They laugh because they know just how far we have fallen from what we were. Yeah, they laugh.... we, as a nation, should cry - and bow our heads in shame.... And while they are bowed maybe say a prayer.... that somehow our nation remember what greatness is and decide that average is not something to strive for, but something to surpass...