[wwweston]

The US is astoundingly well-functioning and most US citizens astoundingly lucky by historical and/or global standards, and certain kinds of minimally functional mutual accountability are part of the reason why we've gotten this far.

There's also plenty of room for improvement of course (including learning from other industrial social democracies as well as recent internal issues), so that's relative, but the most reasonable perspective to start from is that we're all ridiculously lucky. Without substantial appreciation for that fact we're quite likely to wreck institutions that have gotten us here.

[trilbyglens]

Astoundingly well functioning maybe if you ignore literally every single other developed nation on the planet.

[wwweston]

See the parenthetical in the 2nd paragraph of the comment you're replying to.

[keewee7]

You're probably correct if you don't consider Southern Europe and Eastern Germany to be developed.

[kodyo]

The US government is the bloodiest, most indebted, and most imprisoning institution on the planet.

And I agree, it is astoundingly well-functioning at it.