Yes, we do it backwards. Other countries get somewhat less corrupt at higher levels of government - this is why Chinese people like Jackie Chan generally support the CCP and hate their local town mayors and police chiefs. Our Presidency and Senate are wholly owned subsidiaries of the central bankers, and the House and Supreme Court are leaning in that direction, even while many communities retain fine public servants at local levels and continue to provide a reasonable facsimile of "real America" to live in.
Of course, compare local life in Mexico or China to local life in Detroit or Washington, DC and suddenly those other nations don't look quite so bad...
True, true.
There are a ton of good constitution abiding folks throughout this greatest country in history. Pockets of greatness still exist (Thankfully I live in South Orange County CA) where people are responsible and the schools have relatively conservative teachers in the public schools.
There is hope, but we need to persuade the other half that accomplishment in life is desirable and leads to fulfillment and a whole loving family. Pursuing being the best that one can be is all the security that a member of a great community needs. Everyone has everyone’s back. It’s a Judeo-Christian thing. :-)