The American experiment is not a product of the 20th century. It began in the 18th century and took flight in the 19th century after surviving a brutal civil war. The U. S. homeland suffered very little physical damage during WWII, so the U.S. assumed a leadership position after the war. We have problems now because 1) some of the ideas of the 18th century reflected in our constitution do not serve us well, and 2) even those ideas which could serve us have been perverted in the quest for the almighty dollar. The other thing which is causing havoc in our society is social media, which allows every nut case to talk to every other nut case. Social media is certainly a genie which cannot be put back in the bottle.