I think you are right, but also feel like it’s a too narrow view. Other places which aren’t the US have the same kinds of things going on.

In my personal experience and amateur opinion, people have swung back. During the pandemic, especially at the start it was all about protecting each other, caring for each other. About doing stuff for the greater good, limiting freedom of what you can and can’t do, not to help yourself but to help others. There was always this group which resisted that, but as the pandemic went on, it got harder and harder for more people. You saw people ignoring masks and hygiene rules and doing what they felt like, especially near the “end” of the pandemic. Even the people that really cared and tried (me amongst them), there was a mental fatigue and mistakes slipped in. And I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for young folk.

When the pandemic was declared to be over, there was this real shift in people’s attitudes. People got more selfish and less worried about stuff like personal space and basic hygiene. Especially since the pandemic wasn’t really over, a lot of people felt like it was all bullshit. We could have just declared it over way sooner and they could have gotten on with their lives. I’ve seen people buy bigger, less environmentally friendly cars. Buy loud motorcycles. Eat more meat, use more energy and water. Be rude to people all the time, be rude to people in services. Let their kids do whatever. Play more loud music.

It’s like people got so tired of caring for others, they feel like the world owes them what they want for themselves.

Of course there are many other factors, like the insane amount of social media people consume and what that does to their brains. The big media companies driving what people need to think. Pressure from wars and climate change, driving up refugee numbers etc. etc. But for me personally, I feel like the swing back from the pandemic has had a big impact.