Looking from the outside in, I view the pre-WW1 neutral America as the zenith of American society and culture. Being in the world spotlight as a superpower and having to combat communism really didn't do America much good, as the former Frontier Spirit was replaced with a certain obedience to authority (be it governmental or corporate). The same thing is happening in my country, as I see desperate attempts at trying to cling to infinite economic and population growth at the cost of society at large.
It got even worse after the cold war when there was no common enemy anymore and the factions of the west started eating their own as a substitute.
