So the right replaces the things our parents had (job opportunities, a good health care system, good schools) with the idea that being American is great. So we must pump up the idea that nothing is better than being American (not jobs, housing, healthcare, etc.)
The right pounds away at the idea that being American is so special. True, because until recently we had a solid legal system. Not true: no universal health or child care. Bad schools, mostly. Middle class sinking. Money runs politics. People can't get jobs or buy a house.