Editor's note: Bradley Blankenship is a Prague-based American journalist, political analyst and freelance reporter. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

This year's July 4 marks the 245th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, when the Thirteen Colonies that would later become the United States of America formally declared independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. In those 245 years, the country has gone through many tumultuous periods yet still managed to survive intact, even becoming the world's largest economy and a global hegemon.

However, even as President Joe Biden claims that this Independence Day will be a celebration for a "summer of freedom," the country is in irreversible decline and the American people are becoming less "free" by the day.

Both sects of the ruling elite can see that the socioeconomic status quo is on life support. Just six months ago, supporters of former president Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6 because they believe the results of the 2020 presidential election were fabricated.

This is now a commonly held view within the Republican Party thanks to a barrage of right-wing disinformation emanating from outlets like Fox News, and also made possible due to the growing perception – no doubt based on people's lived experience – that things are getting worse.

For Democrats, they appear to be sleepwalking into what could genuinely be the full-on collapse of the country. Just a year out from what could be the most important midterm elections in decades, they claim to be seeking "systemic" change but are intent on maintaining the prevailing legislative and political decorum that will guarantee any legislation capable of even the most change, nevermind systemic change, will be stuck in perpetual gridlock.

As the U.S. lurches toward what could be the very kind of dictatorship that it constantly warns other countries about, Biden is continuing various Trump policies that are dangerous and are setting precedents that will make Americans less free.

This includes a homicidal U.S. foreign policy, including the illegal occupation of sovereign countries, for example, Iraq and Syria, as well as murderous sanctions like those against Iran, Cuba and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

To be sure, Americans at home can feel this deterioration of individual rights dressed up as national security concerns. For decades, the U.S. has taken a heavy-handed approach to attacking free speech in the name of countering extremism through things such as the Patriot Act, the National Security Agency (NSA) global surveillance program, arrests of whistleblowers and journalists, as well as a recent U.S. government seizure of Iranian media sites.

This is significant because of the precedent it has set. Attacks on foreign media could mean that people won't get the proper information about many countries and situations.

The U.S. government claims that, for example, Press TV spreads dangerous disinformation and apparently has the authority to seize their sites. This has nothing to do with preserving "democracy" and everything to do with silencing media voices that challenge U.S. foreign policy.

For 245 years, the U.S. has shown a willingness to adapt to changing times – but now, the country is being consumed by such fervent reaction that it might not be able to adapt anymore. Instead, its ruling elite appears set on silencing any critics in order to hold its grip on power. This is precisely why the U.S. is in decline.

I am personally very critical of the so-called "Founding Fathers," but one must admit how progressive the ideas of the Enlightenment embodied in the most prominent ones' ideas of governance actually were in comparison to the status quo of the time. As Karl Marx noted of the American Revolution, the War of Independence that began in 1775 sent a message to the European middle-class that provided the impetus for other democratic revolutions, including the French Revolution of 1789.

Like any of the bourgeois revolutions of this period, there were obviously massive contradictions between the universalist ideas they espoused and the realities of the time.

Yet, for quite some time, the U.S. had made progress on its fundamental contradictions. It fought a Civil War that ended with the abolition of slavery, began to usher in one of the most prosperous social democracies in history from the beginning to middle part of the 20th century and saw a societal revolution in the mid-to-late 20th century, which included things like the Civil Rights Movement.

Even after all of these decisive historical battles and 245 years on, with polarization at an all-time high, the dismantling of American social institutions, attacks on civil rights legislation and the ruling elite unwilling to permit systemic-minded criticism, everything appears to be on the table once again.

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