Patriotism is out of favor these days, dropping from 70% support in 2000 to 38% today.  (“The Strange Triumph of a Broken America,” by Michael Beckley, Foreign Affairs, Jan/Feb. 2025, pg. 50.)  Because we choose our leaders in a democracy, the decline says the voters are unhappy

My car insurance is due. Though I am driving less, I expect the premium will go up.  Nothing goes down these days except my bank account.  I don’t feel particularly misused. The pendulum seems to swing in the same direction for everyone’s clock.  Greater cost and lower service.