>>713323372
The unimaginable wealth that was created in the post war years, much of it was poured into the military. From an economical stand point, it was as if WWII never ended. Except instead of production, spending was shifted into research. Then came the Cold War and they started stockpiling stuff, for a war that would never come.
But here's the thing. Over the 70s and 80s, it became increasingly clear that the Soviets, despite being crafty and ingenius, could not match western technology. You'd think this would have made them step on the brakes a little, but no. Over the course of the Cold War, in an attempt to stop the expansion of communism, the USA started dishing out heavy handed "forms of diplomacy" with just about everyone. It shifted its world view, to one where there are only two types of actors. Those who fall in line with us, and the enemy. Between bombings, sabotage, coups, interventions of all kinds, not one nation in the globe was spared from being directly attacked by uncle sam.
And that leads us into the current era. They NEED to be this far ahead of everyone else, because they've made enemies with the rest of the world. Nobody likes America, and everyone would benefit from having them....go away.
tl;dr they made enemies of everyone.
