The U.S. is a victim of its own success. When you build something great it's human nature for others to want a piece of it and once that happens it's no longer great.
Keep in mind that the history of mankind isn't self rule, it's rule by strongmen (warlords, kings, etc.) over serfs. That's still the way it is in most countries and was even in most of Europe until the industrial revolution. In my opinion that's why Europe slid so easily into socialism, it's normal for them to expect someone to take care of them and direct their lives, that's the way it's always been in one form or another for them.
The U.S. was initially populated by people that wanted rid of that, they were willing to cut a life out of a wilderness as long as it got annoying busybodies out of their schit. Immigrants today don't come here for that, they mostly come here to take advantage of what others have already built and they move to urban areas which truth be told aren't much different than the places they came from. Living in a high rise in New York isn't radically different than living in one in Frankfurt or San Paolo.
As many are saying here the real divide is rural vs. urban, it's not democrat vs. republican. Rural areas are being depopulated and the people that remain aren't the hard working productive types of our forefathers. I came from a rural area and am the descendent of a middle class farm family that had been in central MS since the 1830's. Until the 1960's you could make a decent living on a 130 acre farm as my grandfather did while raising five children. Those days are gone, farming is all giant factory farms now and anyone farming 130 acres is doing it as a hobby, it costs more money to use it as a playground that you'll get in return. Everyone has to have a real job to pay the bills. Most of the kids with any ambition go to college and never return to live, those staying in the area usually end up living in poverty and on drugs. I recently had a high school classmate that never left my area die of liver failure at 51 from too much alcohol and drug abuse. The few farm labor jobs remaining are done by illegals which just feeds the decline even more. I'm fortunate to have a job that pays well and allowed me to live on my place in the country but my job is 250 miles away so I'm gone half the month. I got divorced several years back and while I'm not interested in getting remarried it doesn't escape my notice that there probably isn't a single woman in my county that I'd consider dating, they're just not there. The women to choose from are either unwed mothers, meth heads, or illegals, not exactly my types. I recently took a condo near the beach because I was getting bored at home, there's only so many times you can bush hog the place or go to the local dollar general. I still have my place and will split time between the condo and there.
Long winded I know but basically I'm saying I agree with those that say demographics is destiny and we're on the losing end.
