Actually, Michael, I think there was a time when we actually could be considered a great nation. We were never perfect but then who is?

Whatever the reason, we jumped into WWII and made a major difference. And after the war our Marshall Plan helped rebuild the destruction left behind.

We jumped into WWI eventually and made a difference, stopping the Kaiser and reshaping Europe.

We built the Panama Canal and opened it to the ships of the world, at least, those of our allies.

We led the nations of the world in revolutions against autocratic power and pushed the idea of popular democracies into the world stage.

All of this is just a sample of what the USA did. It is juxtaposed with the bad things the USA did. But did our bad eclipse our good? I'm not sure.