All I'm getting from any of these responses is that I should be proud of our heritage. But if an alien comes down from space and sees who we are now, what we are now, as a country, are they going to think, "gee, there's a country that should be proud."?

I do not think we should derive pride from our forefathers' accomplishments, unless we can live up to them. I don't think we are living up to them. I can't think of a single example, and none of the above has helped. But thanks for trying.