However, I've been finding it more and more depressing lately. Is it just me, or does it seem like America is getting worse and worse?

I'm a US citizen currently in Shanghai and it's been almost a year since I've been home so I don't know how bad it is on the ground, but from the news it looks horrible and only going downhill...

From the TSA http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/fngfo/why_i_stopped_travelling_to_the_us_and_i_largely/

To the VC world http://www.pehub.com/96111/its-not-a-bubble-people-its-a-pyramid-scheme/

To the government shutting down sites http://torrentfreak.com/u-s-government-shuts-down-84000-websites-by-mistake-110216/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Torrentfreak+(Torrentfreak)

To IP laws http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=2011021108493059

To academia http://blog.devicerandom.org/2011/02/18/getting-a-life/

More importantly, there doesn't seem to be anyone doing anything about these issues. Khan Academy and the Nissan Leaf seem to be the only positive posts. Just wondering what other people think.