is this what they gave their lives for?

Just a week or so ago, I was in Marietta, Georgia, a place I know very well, and for the first time in many years, I found myself taking a long walk there and found myself in The Marietta National Cemetary. Established in 1866, it is the resting place of 18,742 United States Soldiers who gave their lives for our country. It is odd, in the 30 plus years that I have been visiting Marietta, I have driven past and marveled at this beautiful cemetery countless times. But it wasn't up until recently that I entered and paid my respects.
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While I was looking at the graves' names and dates, I wondered what these brave soldiers would think of the country they died to protect if they were alive today. I believe that most would be shocked into disbelief. I can only imagine the sadness and anger they might feel to see how corrupt and barbaric our once great nation has become, to see how morally low and spiritually bankrupt we have fallen.

This is not the America I was brought up in, nor is it the America I was brought up to be proud of. I wish I had an answer or something to shed just a glimmer of hope to anyone reading this, but in all honesty, I don't. I realize I am not the first, nor is this emotion unprecedented or unshared. But for the first time in my life, I feel entirely broken-hearted and lost as an American.