Greed, power and control have been features of the US for a long time. The right wing fascism and militarism of the 50's and early 60's, HUAC, Joe McCarthy, the US perpetrated genocide in Korea, the beginnings of the US phase of the Vietnam war were not some kind of golden age. The atrocities were masked by the massive transfer of wealth and power to the US from the rest of the world. Some of that trickled down to the rest of us as the US got its empire sorted out, but that was a bug and not a feature.
And I believe this country has been on a downward trajectory since with greed, power, and control guiding us.
Greed, power and control have been features of the US for a long time. The right wing fascism and militarism of the 50's and early 60's, HUAC, Joe McCarthy, the US perpetrated genocide in Korea, the beginnings of the US phase of the Vietnam war were not some kind of golden age. The atrocities were masked by the massive transfer of wealth and power to the US from the rest of the world. Some of that trickled down to the rest of us as the US got its empire sorted out, but that was a bug and not a feature.