There have been a LOT of posts here on SS and other sites drawing parallels to the American and Roman declines.
And there are also a LOT of theories written about the Roman decline. Very few of which I fully understand. So I'm not convinced that America has declined in the same exact way of the Romans.
In my opinion, 99.99% of America's "own citizens" have no real power. Their beliefs and thoughts are insignificant. It really doesn't matter what the majority of average American citizens think or believe, unless it affects or threatens the profits of the oligarchy.
But the elite and powerful have done a masterful job of brainwashing people into thinking that the average man's happiness is derived through consumerism.
"Buy Clearasil and you'll get to fvuck the girl."
"Go into debt for this car and people will think you're important."
But how many American citizens believe right now that America's future is looking bright?
And does America's future, or the well being of its citizens, actually matter to guys like Phil Knight? Or Bill Gates? Not really. I don't think so. The labor and consumer base of power is shifting rapidly from West to East. They can hire people at low wage to sell computers (units) to millions of emerging consumers in China, India, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, etc. etc. etc.
The only thing that Phil Knight or Bill Gates cares about is the spendability of the average American consumer.
Which is better for companies like Nike and Microsoft? Low wages via 3rd-world sweatshops? Or higher wages to the bloated American worker and his nagging demands for health benefits and good wages?
Concern/agenda #1 for the American oligarchy is very similar to Wall Street: keep wages LOW and profits HIGH. If that means moving your company to China and building sweatshops with suicide nets installed (Google "Foxconn"), then so be it.
Most of us who know that American isn't worth saving think small, because we come from small. It's easier to adopt others' values than think for ourselves. So we buy into classic American falsehoods, like military troops are our "heroes"; that Mitt Romney sympathizes with minorities and the poor; that ANYONE who opposes America is a "terrorist."
Only a select few have a truly significant, vested interest in preserving the American Corporatocracy. There are a select few who aren't rich and/or privileged, who truly believe in the myth of championing the Middle Class, but they often pay the price with abject poverty, social ostracizing, even death.