>>512441206 (OP)There have been several such moments just in my lifetime. The 9/11 attacks changed everything for the worse with the government's constant propaganda about how people need to be suspicious and on alert for terrorist activity, and talking heads in the media denouncing people who questioned the Iraq War as either anti-American or just un-American (an actual debate I remember in Bill O'Reilly's show not long after Shock and Awe).
The 2008 crash made everything worse afterward.
Obama's second term coincides with the rise of woke, along with the Trayvon Martin incident that the news media turned into a giant event right after the demise of Occupy Wall Street. The woke stuff has been shoved down our throats ever since.
Starting in 2015, with Trump announcing his candidacy, the media became even worse and more scummy, and that hasn't changed since then. The Russiagate stuff that began in 2016 and has continued, more or less, ever since has worsened the political mood in the US because the accusation that Trump is a Russian agent (some derisively call him "Agent Krasnov) is an obviously lie, but the media won't give up on it.
The 2020 economic crash, lockdowns, and all that stuff changed the way business operate, possibly forever. Offices are closed way more often than they used to be, have shorter operating hours, and stores are like this too.
The inflation since 2020 has been severe and, while apparently slowing down, is still rising at a rate higher than most people's income.
And I'd even say the late 1990s tech bubble and its surrounding euphoria was a major comedown for society, because society became a lot more materialistic and shallow and there has been nothing like the early 90s sense of "authenticity" since the early to mid 90s.
The rise of offshoring, especially in the 90s, has been catastrophic for ordinary Americans who don't have special skills but just want a regular job.