I agree with all of this. Until we understand the American Dream has been usurped and people like dotard are using the ghost of it to grab votes, then we are doomed. Things have changed and we as a country haven't adjusted. More like we have been lulled into a state of fat entitled hypnosis by a lot of snake oil salesmen. Our expectations, priorities and values have been changed through media and marketing assaults.
I am a late boomer. I grew up in small town Texas where we had about 6,000 people in our community. About 3,500 within the city limits, another 1,500 who lived just outside in unincorporated "mekskin town", and the rest in the outlying farms. We had a segregated elementary school, one for each side of the tracks. We had 3 independent drug stores, 3 hardware stores, a plumbing shop, two auto parts, eight mom and pop diners or cafes, an HEB and a Piggly Wiggly, one Perry Bros. five and dime, three barbers and 2 hair salons, two banks, jeweler, maybe 5 insurance agents, six full service stations, one mercantile store, probably 8 gins and 4 elevators in a 5 mile radius. And we were one of the smaller communities in the county.
That was a lot of jobs for a lot of people. A lot of people were living the American dream. Owning and working their own business or farm. There was some oil income, and maybe 25% of the town worked in nearby plants or refineries.
There were a lot of people who worked as employees of those small businesses, or contractors who serviced those businesses.
It wasn't perfect, especially for the Mexican Americans(the racial stuff is a whole 'nother subject). But in most cases it was better than what had preceded for all, considering they had just come out of The Great Depression and WW2.
Several factors were at play though. The GI Bill was hugely instrumental in housing and education for many, including my father. Social Security and fair labor laws were being instituted. There was a huge market for our goods, since the rest of the world was rebuilding their factories, infrastructures. And one thing often overlooked is that income inequality was at its lowest in a century from 1943 to 1983. That means the dollar was stronger in the middle class than at other times. People could do the things Brisket is talking about with one income earner in the family.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_inequality_in_the_United_States
Now most of those opportunities are gone. The systems have changed in almost all aspects. Corporations and chains have killed off those jobs. Farms that survived on 1,000 acres now need 6,000 to survive due to economies of size. For good or bad, Walmart played a big part in the demise of these smaller towns. Honestly, if it wasn't going to be Walmart, it would be some other corporation. (I do hate Walmart though.) And now the big box stores are being threatened by Amazon and the ilk. Add to that that mechanization, robotics and AI is beginning to replace jobs and you have even less opportunities for employment.
Still, a lot of these boomers were raised with that mindset that if their parents could do it, then they should be able to do it as well. A lot of pressure from parents to have these boomers be even more "successful" than their previous generation. And they pass that pressure down to their own kids. Maybe it's not pressure, but disappointment, frustration and anger. Maybe the isolationist movement has been embedded in us because of these feelings that are being handed down generation to generation now. Everybody looking out for themselves now.
And it is everywhere, not just rural Texas, but the rust belt is hit just as hard. Watch the Flint special on Netflix.
Personally, I think one of the first steps in righting the ship will be to readjust the income distribution, make the middle class strong again. But that same middle class we should be making stronger is voting for people like trump who keep tipping the scales the other way. So brainwashed.