We'd like to keep this a welcoming environment where people don't hesitate to ask questions. While I'm not debating the ah... uh... truthiness in your examples, I do believe that they don't belong here.

That's the American experience.

That may be your American experience, but it's not everyone's. We are a huge country, and while there's of course truth behind the stereotypes, the glib "'Murica dumb" sentiment doesn't exactly capture everyone's experience.

My city (San Francisco) has been continuously improving bike infrastructure and is actively closing streets off to cars, we have a diverse food culture, we don't allow gun stores in the city, and our de facto recreational drug is weed, not coke (though yes, the city does have a fentanyl problem). And I use metric units in lab for my California-based employer.

To address OP's question, I'll add a +1 to all the Ken Burns recommendations. Not an exhaustive history, but it's a great start!