The media would have done its job and exposed bush jr., the Village Idiot, and the people who supported him.
It is all the neocons' fault we have this mess. All of it. The Afghanistan debacle, the economic situation over the last 20 years, 911, Iraq, the other wars like Syria. TSA feeling up little kids at the airport, the explosion in human/child trafficking, and the demoralization of the American public. Hell add the 'No Child Left Behind' dumbing down of the schools.
All of it went down the drain when the Village Idiot and his ilk were allowed to take power!
PERIOD!
We the people became lazy and compliant. For years many did not take a stand or speak up for fear of offending someone and they used that opportunity to grab more and more power. 20 years ago I never would have believed that people would be terrified to live due to a virus with a 99% survival rate.
I think we the people in general have always been somewhat lazy and compliant. From my understanding back when this great experiment was getting started many people here we're meh, what evs. I guess those would be the sheep.
It's the Patriots that pulled us through and I think up till recently had become complacent.