What made America great?

Is it possible to put a finger on it?

There are those who say that America is still great, but I think not.  Something has been lost.  But what is that something?

De Tocqueville was quoted on the subject--- he said what made America great was in its churches.  America is great because America is good.

Did the churches make America great, then?  You will get a lot of disagreement on that, especially these days. 

I have my own theory about it, but maybe it is too "simplistic".  Let's put it this way.  When I was in junior high school, a teacher defined a scientist as a "seeker of truth".  I see America as an offshoot of Western Civilization, which through its Constitution, allowed the truth to shine forth.  It was this truth that was not smothered, as it can be through government suppression, that enabled America's greatness to rise up.  Greatness comes when the light of truth is allowed to shine.

I see the veil of darkness started to lower over the life of Western Civilization and in America as well.  The greatness we have enjoyed may not last.  The truth has gone out, and greatness is fading as well.

All in the name of equality and fairness.  The former is a delusion, and the latter is a lie.  Those who follow this lie will get neither.