[Purrybonker]

As a Canadian, I’ll lever some research work of a Brit (Richard Dawkins dug up these quotes in pursuit of a different subject matter) and I will say that America "went wrong" a long time after these two statements:

“As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Musselmen; and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.”

Under signature of John Adams in the US Treaty with Tripoli drafted under George Washington, circa 1796.

and, much more importantly….

“Shake off all fears of servile prejudices, under which weak minds are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on her tribunal for every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear.”

Thomas Jefferson in a letter to his nephew, Peter Carr circa 1787.

And America went wrong in a very near time to this statement:

“No, I don’t know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.”

President George Bush (sr.) quoted from Robert Sherman in Free Inquiry, 1988

The huge gap between the concepts of freedom being understood to include the intellectual and cultural freedom that can only arise in a secular society to the shackles of fear imposed by the literal and metaphoric application of the rules of religion which only can teach the necessity of making destinctions between good vs. evil, black vs.white, liberal vs. conservative, hetero vs. homo, and so on and so on and so on.

America has stopped being what it once was – the bastion of true physical and intellectual freedom. In consequence it has become less truly free than almost any other nation on the planet. America now spends it's time trying to prove Orwell and Huxley (and almost certainly, Darwin) right. But I find it particularly instructive that George Bush would seemingly opt to exclude Thomas Jefferson from citizenship by virtue of his atheicism. Tail; meet dog. What does that in itself say about the evolution of the singular concept that epitomizes America? Oh, right... freedom.

edit: added Darwin; how could I have missed the most obvious one?