Getting into it with someone IRL and having them straight up say that "Of course America will be able to actually catch up and compete if we get some of the loose baggage off of us!"
(This loose baggage is things like D.E.I, trans etc)
Despite the unpleasantry, I was able to get them to at least admit that cutting government programs isn't gonna make us somehow compete with China. Nor spending billions on programs that only cost China hundreds of millions. Decent progress, despite the bad-taste in my mouth.
The thing that makes me genuinely shocked though is that there are a lot of burgers who think that by just being as racist, homophobic piece of shit settlers even harder that somehow that will absolve their country of struggle and decay. Somehow that will solve all the issues...it's the "third column" holding our country back...apparently. I suppose all the propaganda of "China bad" in terms of convincing burgers of their wunderwaffe compared to "inferior chinese products" really did take a toll.