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That's kind of how everyone you're arguing with feels too, just in a different way. This is not the same America that I was born in or served for.

But it's really not the same. Where we are now is within the paradigm of our constitutional republic, which allows free speech and association. It's the same America, just with different problems. THESE problems fricking PALE in comparison to some of the issues our predecessors dealt with. But social media has turned every issue into a life/death struggle between good/evil. The whole country seems manipulated to hate each other, but that's a reflection of our will as people. It is NOT a reflection of the validity of our country.

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The Marxists/democrats want to make this the USSA and they control every single important aspect of daily life to make it happen. They control all branches of fed government, the military, big tech, the mainstream media, education, entertainment, and corporations.

Okay, so how do you prevent that from happening in your new USA? I say the things we see now are a natural evolution of our process, applied to different issues. The process is fine. People have changed. As with the natural sciences, it's the job of the GOP to adapt. If you want to control more of the important aspects of daily life, adapt. The populace doesn't think like it used to. The GOP needs to bring more people into the tent and it can't do that without coming to terms with the paradigm shift.

No. The USA you grew up in doesn't exist and will never come back. Artificially creating a new country that will somehow be reflective of your idealized notions won't actually prevent the same thing from occurring - unless you specifically outlaw certain thoughts, certain speech, etc. It just seems sad that so many people would willingly give up on the greatest feat of mankind when all they really need to do is have an honest assessment about their beliefs, the state of the world, and ways to sell a conservative mindset for the modern world.

For years, I've been preaching the limited government approach to civil asset forfeiture, the war on drugs, and police accountability. IMO, had the GOP taken a proactive approach on any/all 3 of those issues, they'd be sitting in a much prettier spot. I can't help but think that if they had legalized marijuana, Trump would have won reelection. The GOP could have cemented itself as the party that ended "the new Jim Crow," while Obama did nothing. Think of the political capital. "For decades, Dems have said they want to end prohibition. They had full control under Obama and were too afraid to act. But I, Donald Trump, am more worried about the rights of Americans than I am my legacy." Obama the black savior was too scared of tarnishing HIS legacy to do anything about it. Not the colorblind GOP. Not the small government GOP. Not the free market GOP. Our new approach empowers citizens to make their own choices. It creates a new economy. Etc, etc.

As much as possible, I find that there are a heap of redeeming qualities that come from having a conservative approach that removes itself from the free market. I think the GOP could change its future by doing more to apply those principles, universally, especially when it would have a tangible impact on a huge voting block that largely ignores them. But they don't really seem all that intent on adapting, even when those adaptations would be consistent with a conservative argument.