I remember going through history and reading about the fall of Rome, Greece, Persia, etc and thinking to myself "it sure looks like I'm living during the decline of the US empire... Listened to Punk and Ska, and asked how "Trickle down economics" would ever work when a public corporation's sole reason for existing is to provide value for shareholders.

I also remember talking to my dad in the early 2000s about global warming and asking how any of it could ever change. He told me we'd have to vote for the right people.

Then Citizens United happened and put the nail in the coffin for all of it.