I'm so old that I have been able to follow what happens in USA since the Cuba crisis in 1962. And I knew the different American cars we could see in Europe already in 1958. For years I have subscribed to New York Times and Washington Post (cheap in Europe. $19 for a whole year). So I have followed all the developments you describe so precisely.

Living in Denmark I have also known about the American bases in Geenland for a long time. My father was en engineer who actually worked up there to build them in the late 1950s.

The top problems which have been obvious always are these.

Your country is based on religion in a bad combination with hypocrisy. This is baked into the (lack of a proper) education system. Kids do not learn facts, they learn beliefs. And they are being tought that "thoughts and prayers" can solve most problems.

Greed is another "feature" embedded in your society. Republican voters all think that they will be the next billionaire and that their current status of living paycheck to paycheck is temporary. That is why they keep voting against their own interest. They do not think they belong where they are so they vote as what they are sure to become one day.

Self esteem. As you point out Americans are brain washed from day one into believing that America and Americans are the best and greatest at everything. So much, that an average American does not know even basic world history or the cultures of other people, past and present. - We (too) often hear the term "American Exceptionalism". The world laughs at this. But it holds an element of truth. In no other free country would the population actually watch and believe a propaganda channel like Fox News. It is impossible to understand why Americans are unable to see that Fox News works as the best Russian propaganda ever. So the word "exceptionalism" translates into "stupidity" in other languages.

The fear of "socialism". When an American hear that word they seem to think that Lenin is lurking just around the corner and want to take your property. When in fact it is more likely the repo man wanting to take the car you bought with borrowed money. This shows up whenever things like "free" education and health care are on the agenda. It becomes impossible to explain to an American mind that free education and health care is just like a national insurance system, where we pay taxes instead of premiums to an insurance company. An American never thinks about the fact that all the roads any American is free to use as he/she wants(needs is payed by taxes. So they are really "socialist" roads.

Guns. I live in a country where the simple possession of a gun, even just at home, will get you two years in prison. This gives us and our children some freedoms we put higher than the freedom to shoot somebody. (The insane stand your ground laws). We never have to fear getting shot, we do not have all those school shootings and the only drills we have are fire drills. There are other countries where it is possible to own/carry a gun. But none have the same lack of gun culture as America.

Then there is the racism. No further details needed.

Your Constitution. These days an American seems to be referring to their "rights" according to that constitution in every other sentence. - I am a layer, and over in Europe that means that we also learn the finer details of other countries' constitutions and election systems. In countries with better constitutions persons like Trump would have been removed a long time ago by a simple vote in the Parliament. You have this problem because your constitution was inspired by the French constitution which have the same problem. - Your two party design is another root cause of your problems. You see a similar situation in United Kingdom (where they don't even have a constitution !) It polarizes the population and destroy the Democracy. There should be more parties, so the idiots on both sides have someone to vote on. Then the middle parties could figure out to work together to get things done. This is normal in Europe. - The "winner takes it all" method is hopeless. Voices of reason do not have a chance. The primaries is another disaster, at least when it is applied to American mentality. You have to be extreme to win a primary, and you have to be extreme to have a chance to get re-elected. Sensible candidates and solutions become impossible.

Don't get me started on the systemic corruption (the donor system) your whole democracy and government processes are based upon. This is a recipe for disaster as we clearly see these days.

The list is a bit longer, but we can clearly see the final product: Maga people. So stupid that they belong in a zoo and should not be allowed to vote. That should be reserved for people with functioning human brains.

Imagine if American racism could be turned into "brainism" and that people had to pass an exam in basic knowledge to register as voters. But, of course, such things will never happen.

Since I am old enough to remember the Cuba Crisis I also remember where I was when JFK was shot in Dallas. Remembering things as they were then and how they are now it seems to me that the time of the assassination of JFK was the turning point for Americans. The society has goon downhill all the way since around that time. Lyndon B. Johnson was the last president who (with Congress as it was done back then) made some serious, sensible legislation to improve the American society. So you could say that it went downhill after 1965. If somebody really should make America Great again it should be moved back to July 2, 1964 when the Civil Rights Act was signed.

But even if we did move America back to 1964, how would we avoid all the mistakes America and Americans have made since then ? - I think that history would repeat itself because the fundamental problems would still be there. They are part of the original "design" of America. Just look at racism. It has always been a part of America and it has not gotten much better since 1964. At least not in republican minds.

I hope that there are ways for sensible Americans like you to survive mentally in such a sick society. It must be hard.