I honestly think everything changed after 911 . Close . IMHO it has changed in the aftermath of 911 , specifically because of the costs of the IraqAfghan wars . Think about it estimates for the cost to tax payers is anywhere from 1 . 6 T to 6 T dollars . That money has to come from someone and that someone is the American People , in the form of economic malaise , crumbling infrastructure and the rise of income inequality . You just can ' t take that much money out of our economy and expect everything to remain great . America is like a losing sports team . Every little thing is amplified out of proportion . Every small division becomes a chasm . I think people naturally realize this and that ' s a big reason Trump ' s MAGA theme resonates . As Patton said , Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser .