What has happened to our country?

[mystery-ak]

What has happened to our country?

It’s amazing, the insanity leftists can get away with today.

Bob Weir | May 24, 2026

When I think about the changes I’ve seen in this great nation over the course of my life, I’m stunned at the many bizarre deviations that have occurred right under my nose.  Did I not see it coming?  Was I so confident that the U.S. would always be rooted in moral values that I let down my guard?

Looking back, I’m reminded of the maxim about the frog placed in a pot of comfortable room-temperature water while the heat gradually turns up until the frog is boiled alive.  How many of us are so comfortable that we pay scant attention to the rising fever of corruption that has become SOP?

Certainly, if you’ve lived through the past few decades, you’ve seen a steady decline in the cultural and moral values that most of us grew up with.  During our younger years, we would have been shocked out of our shorts to hear some of the mind-boggling concepts that have been insinuated into our lexicon.

Imagine attending a social function in the late seventies or early eighties and hearing someone say, “I heard that Mike had that sex change operation and is now a woman.  He’s planning to get pregnant before the end of the year.”  Everyone within earshot would have turned toward the voice and thought someone was beginning a comedy routine.  However, if that person had continued talking seriously about it, the guests would surely think the speaker was suffering from a mind-altering drug.  Moreover, the host would have been questioned as to how such an oddball got an invitation to a party with normal folks.  There wouldn’t be anyone trying to make sense of such gibberish by attempting to reason with the weirdo.

more
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/05/what_has_happened_to_our_country.html

[Cyber Liberty]

Liberals happened.  They went into overdrive when O'Bastard got control of the DoJ.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Liberals happened.  They went into overdrive when O'Bastard got control of the DoJ.

Really went overdrive with COVID Tyranny coupled with the oxymoron of endless nationwide rioting they fully supported at the same time.

[Cyber Liberty]

Really went overdrive with COVID Tyranny coupled with the oxymoron of endless nationwide rioting they fully supported at the same time.

No matter how one slices it, the Liberals are at the core.

[Right_in_Virginia]

The liberal socialists had no opposition.

[andy58-in-nh]

The Progressive movement, having first established a foothold in both political parties at the beginning of the last century, set about to take over America's broad educational, cultural and informational institutions, understanding that such control would allow them to transform the social underpinnings of Western civilization.
 
They have now largely succeeded.

Having changed the public language and terms of discussion, they are now proceeding to dismantle the primary institutions of faith, family and community.

They will succeed here as well, unless they are stopped by a successful counter-revolution - and yes: that is what it will require - a movement far beyond political boundaries that seeks to restore what has been lost. 

The conservative movement in America has philosophical, cultural and religious underpinnings with values and beliefs that can support such a movement, but it will not succeed unless it stops treating the problem as merely a political one, and learns to organize and fight accordingly.   

For that reason, it often appears to those observers who desire a return to traditional Western ideals that there has been little effective and organized opposition to the Progressive Project.   

The Republican party is never going to lead the charge, but if so prompted by the rise of organic pro-Western, pro-Liberty social forces, it will have little choice but to follow, or else get out of the way.

[cato potatoe]

The left gained power because the right used their time as a majority to start wars, ignore the housing bubble, print trillions of dollars, obsess about homosexuals, and worship an obvious lunatic.  The past 38 years have been wasted on crap like this, with brief interruptions by way of Newt Gingrich and the Tea Party.   

[andy58-in-nh]

The left gained power because the right used their time as a majority to start wars, ignore the housing bubble, print trillions of dollars, obsess about homosexuals, and worship an obvious lunatic.  The past 38 years have been wasted on crap like this, with brief interruptions by way of Newt Gingrich and the Tea Party.

No. The Left has done all of those things, including the worship of multiple lunatics. The Right has wasted its time by pretending that the solution is merely a political one. Passing meaningful laws (which they manifestly cannot seem to do) is simply not going to reverse the damage.

[Bigun]

Liberals happened.  They went into overdrive when O'Bastard the Clintons got control of the DoJ leavers of power.

Corrected

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Imagine attending a social function in the late seventies or early eighties and hearing someone say, “I heard that Mike had that sex change operation and is now a woman.  He’s planning to get pregnant before the end of the year.”  Everyone within earshot would have turned toward the voice and thought someone was beginning a comedy routine.  However, if that person had continued talking seriously about it, the guests would surely think the speaker was suffering from a mind-altering drug.  Moreover, the host would have been questioned as to how such an oddball got an invitation to a party with normal folks.  There wouldn’t be anyone trying to make sense of such gibberish by attempting to reason with the weirdo.

more
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/05/what_has_happened_to_our_country.html

I remember hearing exactly that... it was a tennis player right?

[dfwgator]

Balkanization, that's what happened.

[roamer_1]

Corrected

Oh, I dunno, @Bigun 🤔 I can put its roots all the way back to the feminism, free sex, drugs, and divorce rates spawned by the hippie movement back in the 70s - You  can try to hang it on political figures if you'd like. But its always been a moral infection, all the way along.

IT IS SIN. And the fix is God, not politics.

[Bigun]

The Progressive movement, having first established a foothold in both political parties at the beginning of the last century, set about to take over America's broad educational, cultural and informational institutions, understanding that such control would allow them to transform the social underpinnings of Western civilization.
 
They have now largely succeeded.

Having changed the public language and terms of discussion, they are now proceeding to dismantle the primary institutions of faith, family and community.

They will succeed here as well, unless they are stopped by a successful counter-revolution - and yes: that is what it will require - a movement far beyond political boundaries that seeks to restore what has been lost. 

The conservative movement in America has philosophical, cultural and religious underpinnings with values and beliefs that can support such a movement, but it will not succeed unless it stops treating the problem as merely a political one, and learns to organize and fight accordingly.   

For that reason, it often appears to those observers who desire a return to traditional Western ideals that there has been little effective and organized opposition to the Progressive Project.   

The Republican party is never going to lead the charge, but if so prompted by the rise of organic pro-Western, pro-Liberty social forces, it will have little choice but to follow, or else get out of the way.

Absolutely 100% correct @andy58-in-nh I was too lazy to type that much.

[Bigun]

The left gained power because the right used their time as a majority to start wars, ignore the housing bubble, print trillions of dollars, obsess about homosexuals, and worship an obvious lunatic.  The past 38 years have been wasted on crap like this, with brief interruptions by way of Newt Gingrich and the Tea Party.

YOU are so FOS your eyes are brown! @cato potatoe

[rangerrebew]

First, education which starts anti=Americanism when kids are 5.

TV which blasts people all their lives with their opinions and lies instead of facts.

The media which is a liberal hate cabal on its own.

Democrats who are tight with the media and whose hate is never questioned by it.

Unions.

Universities who enroll as many America hating students and professors as they can.

Congress which no prison of 500 inmates can challenge for corruption.

Voters who have become to lazy to question what politicians lie about.

Voters who to lazy to vote and instead choose to vote on party lines because they don't do the above.
 
The legal system, which not as corrupt as congress, makes more impactful decisions which voters never hear about.

[cato potatoe]

YOU are so FOS your eyes are brown! @cato potatoe

I bet you were a George W Bush dead-ender.  Economy in the toilet, never ending wars, open borders, soaring gas prices, the country turned over to Obama … and yet, somehow 30% of people approved of his performance to the final day.

[massadvj]

Corrected

It may surprise you to hear this from me, Earl, but I believe GWB did far more damage to the country than Clinton ever did. Between the Patriot Act, the Iraq War, the expansion of the Department of Education, and his failure to control the massive deficits, GWB put the GOP imprimatur to the managerial state. Trump looked like he would be an instrument for dismantling it, but so far Trump has merely transformed the managerial state to accomplish his purposes, rather than dismantle. I would much prefer a disempowered federal government to one that continues business as usual to accomplish Trump's purposes, which only sometimes align with the Constitution.

[roamer_1]

It may surprise you to hear this from me, Earl, but I believe GWB did far more damage to the country than Clinton ever did. Between the Patriot Act, the Iraq War, the expansion of the Department of Education, and his failure to control the massive deficits, GWB put the GOP imprimatur to the managerial state. Trump looked like he would be an instrument for dismantling it, but so far Trump has merely transformed the managerial state to accomplish his purposes, rather than dismantle. I would much prefer a disempowered federal government to one that continues business as usual to accomplish Trump's purposes, which only sometimes align with the Constitution.

TRUE. And exactly right. Nice to see you @massadvj   

[rustynail]

The Nineteenth Amendment.

[Fishrrman]

Hmmm...Didn't anyone look at the byline for the original article and immediately think, "Grateful Dead" ??

Andy writes (well, as always):
"They will succeed here as well, unless they are stopped by a successful counter-revolution - and yes: that is what it will require - a movement far beyond political boundaries that seeks to restore what has been lost."

You stopped short of saying what needs to be said, and I understand why.

Let me put it another way, in a repeat of something I first posted on July 11, 2022:
==============
Fishrrman's paradox:
Traditional Constitutional government cannot and will not be restored through Constitutional means. Some other means will be required and used to accomplish that restoration.
==============

So here's a new one:
Fishrrman's predicament:
The entirety of the existing United States cannot be saved from communism.
However, a certain portion of the existing nation can be saved, but only after we accept that the entirety cannot.
If this be true, how shall we proceed?

[mountaineer]

[Bigun]

It may surprise you to hear this from me, Earl, but I believe GWB did far more damage to the country than Clinton ever did. Between the Patriot Act, the Iraq War, the expansion of the Department of Education, and his failure to control the massive deficits, GWB put the GOP imprimatur to the managerial state. Trump looked like he would be an instrument for dismantling it, but so far Trump has merely transformed the managerial state to accomplish his purposes, rather than dismantle. I would much prefer a disempowered federal government to one that continues business as usual to accomplish Trump's purposes, which only sometimes align with the Constitution.

It may surprise you to hear this from me, Victor, but I can argue with very little of what you said except to say that it WAS Clinton who flung the doors open and the alternative to G. W. Bush was a lunatic named Albert Gore Jr.

P. S. I hope Karl Rove and the Bush clan rot in hell!

[massadvj]

It may surprise you to hear this from me, Victor, but I can argue with very little of what you said except to say that it WAS Clinton who flung the doors open and the alternative to G. W. Bush was a lunatic named Albert Gore Jr.

P. S. I hope Karl Rove and the Bush clan rot in hell!

It is always worse when these things are done by Republicans.

[Right_in_Virginia]

The Progressive movement, having first established a foothold in both political parties at the beginning of the last century, set about to take over America's broad educational, cultural and informational institutions, understanding that such control would allow them to transform the social underpinnings of Western civilization.

The successes of the liberal socialists accelerated when women --- the natural guardians of cultural legacy, sanity, safety and order --- came to believe those who protected abortion rights valued them.  Republicans should have fought for women: their attention, their voices and their votes.

[Sighlass]

Slippery slope of a voter nation that puts its own interests above God. Cut by cut, it is bleeding itself to an immoral end.

women --- the natural guardians of cultural legacy, sanity, safety and order --- came to believe those who protected abortion rights valued them.

So you are saying women failed us... and I tend to agree, throwing in the disclaimer that husbands/men failed women/wives too. Killing babies is just pure evil no matter how you spin it for political reasons.

[Right_in_Virginia]

So you are saying women failed us... ...... Killing babies is just pure evil no matter how you spin it for political reasons.

No.  I'm saying republican conservatives failed American women.  Republicans ignored that the pregnant young woman they were condemning was also a child of God --- confused, afraid, angry --- but, still His child and in need of compassion and alternatives to abortion.

[Smokin Joe]

Oh, I dunno, @Bigun 🤔 I can put its roots all the way back to the feminism, free sex, drugs, and divorce rates spawned by the hippie movement back in the 70s - You  can try to hang it on political figures if you'd like. But its always been a moral infection, all the way along.

IT IS SIN. And the fix is God, not politics.

You are right, of course.

The seemingly innocuous (sometimes) 'rebellion' including the sexual revolution (fed by the Pill), made subtle shifts seem less extreme, and as each shift was incorporated into the American mindset, more extreme things were on the horizon. It was a slow spreading infection, driven by media, embraced by youth, and carried to the next generation as normal.

Take things common in media today and insert them into the 1960s or 70s, and the outcry would be loud, widespread, and harsh enough to shut it down. Yet each increment was presented as modern, even 'healthy', polished with rare poster child cases, wrapped in faux sentimentality to sell it to a public that was turning its back on The Almghty.

[Bigun]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW4DBQnEpeM&t=21s

[mountaineer]

The last few generations have decided it's not important to take their children to church or synagogue.

[roamer_1]

No.  I'm saying republican conservatives failed American women.  Republicans ignored that the pregnant young woman they were condemning was also a child of God --- confused, afraid, angry --- but, still His child and in need of compassion and alternatives to abortion.

Now, There's a giant crock of crap if there ever was one.
The ONLY fight against abortion was carried by the far right. Were it not for them,it would not have remained a platform plank for all those years, and would have been swept right out of focus...

And that issue still has a long, long way to go. The SCOTUS decision overturning roe v wade was a major victory, but it really hasn't changed the battlefield all that much. You can still get an abortion almost everywhere in the US - with children as young as 15 able to get an abortion without parental consent in most states.

IN FACT, though I have not gone looking in a while, abortion in the US has INCREASED significantly since the Dobbs decision.

So your strutting around is as phony as all the rest of your bragged 'successes'. 

The ones carrying the battle forward will be the same Conservatives that have carried it all along.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

The right also neglected public education... they let the leftist run amok in that field now we're producing generation after generation of leftist who repeat all their garbage verbatim.

[the OlLine Rebel]

The last few generations have decided it's not important to take their children to church or synagogue.

That’s especially easy when you see what the churches have become.

Yet another thing commandeered by liberals…and their “love” for everyone.

[the OlLine Rebel]

You are right, of course.

The seemingly innocuous (sometimes) 'rebellion' including the sexual revolution (fed by the Pill), made subtle shifts seem less extreme, and as each shift was incorporated into the American mindset, more extreme things were on the horizon. It was a slow spreading infection, driven by media, embraced by youth, and carried to the next generation as normal.

Take things common in media today and insert them into the 1960s or 70s, and the outcry would be loud, widespread, and harsh enough to shut it down. Yet each increment was presented as modern, even 'healthy', polished with rare poster child cases, wrapped in faux sentimentality to sell it to a public that was turning its back on The Almghty.

And that is the actual meaning of their moniker, “Progressive”.

[roamer_1]

You are right, of course.

The seemingly innocuous (sometimes) 'rebellion' including the sexual revolution (fed by the Pill), made subtle shifts seem less extreme, and as each shift was incorporated into the American mindset, more extreme things were on the horizon. It was a slow spreading infection, driven by media, embraced by youth, and carried to the next generation as normal.

Take things common in media today and insert them into the 1960s or 70s, and the outcry would be loud, widespread, and harsh enough to shut it down. Yet each increment was presented as modern, even 'healthy', polished with rare poster child cases, wrapped in faux sentimentality to sell it to a public that was turning its back on The Almghty.

That's right, Smoke.
The only thing I could add is that if one has a grasp of history one can see this same formula over and over again, all the way back to the original Fallen, and what they promised to teach Man, through a hundred iterations...

One of the things they teach invariably leads to feminism, sexual liberation, transvestism - Every form of sexual deviancy - Which inevitably leads to bastard children, which leads to welfare, which leads inevitably to child sacrifice.

The bellwethers have all been there for a long, long time now... the only exception being our form of sacrifice seemingly is a little more 'sterile'.
 
But it is a blood sacrifice, all the same. 

We need to repent.

[Hoodat]

Engel v. Vitale is when it began.

[libertybele]

The last few generations have decided it's not important to take their children to church or synagogue.

I am guilty of falling away from the Church, though both of our children attended Christian schools and received the sacraments.

I won't go through my entire religious journey but I did attend several "non-traditional" churches and was shocked when someone tried to convince me that God is NOT all loving nor forgiving!  I stopped going to those churches and after several years eventually made my way back to the Catholic Church, though I still question some of the practices, dogma, and certainly this Pope.

The trend and mindset these days leans towards becoming a "born again" Christian and baptized again. No one is perfect and there are also all sorts of wannabe Christians and it has been my experience that those who claim to be a "born again" Christian lack in acting in a Christian manner.

So ... I can understand those distancing themselves from Christianity and organized religion.

Schools have fought to do away with God, religion and even citing the "Pledge of Allegiance" -- our forefathers structured this country on Christian principles and we as a country have alarmingly fallen from those principles.