I've studied abroad for some brief periods, but I've lived almost all of my life in the US, particularly in some of the more rural states. I'm at this weird pla

I've studied abroad for some brief periods, but I've lived almost all of my life in the US, particularly in some of the more rural states. I'm at this weird place mentally where I'm sometimes both exasperated by the economic situation here, while still annoyed by 'outsiders' who draw attention to it. Sometimes I feel that the faults of the US get more negative international publicity than other countries, leading people who don't really know the situation here to constantly try to bring up our issues. At the same time, there is still a Cold War-esque "We're number 1" attitude that makes some people here unwilling to see the faults. In the end, I wish I had an answer. Even more so, I wish I knew what the problem is. As the article says: I'm not surprised that bridges and roads built primarily from the 50s-70s are crumbling and need to be repaired. I'm just surprised that it costs so much to do so, and no one is sure why.