Coming back to what?

It looks likely that I will return to the US in September sometime. And to what will I return? A dysfunctional country, about to become the next Afghanistan (theocratically), Argentina (economically) or Weimar Republic Germany (politically), or all three? A country where the sense of the body politic has become so skewed and twisted that mere involvement has become dirty, like getting caught a la Pee Wee in a porn house? I lov eAmerica and Americans, but some tendencies we have are definitely counter productive, such as the tendency to give up on society when things get tough and stock your basement with canned goods and pack away the extra ammo.

Of course there are the usual contraindicators: the economy is still growing, although it still is not up to where it was in the late 90s. Yes, real wages have remained stagnant, the deficeit is bigger than Rush Limbaugh's medicine cabinet, and let's face it, we don't *make* anything anymore, still it could be worse. As long as we can keep China buying our T-notes, we're golden! Furhter, based on recent events (the immigrant demonstrations, mostly) it seems that some people are waking up to the fact the administration isn't going to do a damn thing for them, and so they must do for themselves. And of course there's Bush's sterling 33% approval rating. So is there enough right in the US to overcome all the wrong that has wound it's way into our rugs, our clothes, the lint between our toes?