Thank you - wonderful article. I too am frequently thinking about how America could reverse out of this collective gloom. The economy is strong. Immigrants are thriving, especially Latinos but also all immigrants, regardless of origin country. Women are doing better than ten years ago. The US leads the world in tech innovation and in small business creativity and productivity. We have the best universities and hospitals and research institutes.

I would urge anyone who feels despair over America's future to go spend a year in Sweden / France / Spain / Brazil / Greece / or actually, just pick any country. There is no firm basis for this belief in impending collapse.