It isn't too narrow, it's the exact problem. The US has failed to protect the people, it has failed to protect our planet, and it has failed to protect anybody but the rich. The US government is fundamentally flawed.

> The US government is fundamentally flawed.

I think part of this stems from how much power the states have, to be honest. There's no overarching system of, say, education that can really be used to hold States accountable for what they teach and appropriation of funds and such. Sure, they're bound by some regulations if they accept federal funding, but it's nowhere near enough. They can choose willy-nilly to just change it up, by stopping the federal funding...which is often a decision made on politics rather than what's good for the kids.

Not to mention that American secondary schools are going through an identity crisis, as I see it.

Flawed unless you are one of the rich you mention. I think things work rather well for a few and rather terrible for many, the question is how much longer things will keep working so well for the few?