AMERICA IN CRISIS: A REVIEW OF THE DEBATE ON AMERICAN DECLINE Xu Guoqi(135) Owing to the confusion in reference frames, the difference in statistics and the emotionalized attitude of both sides in debate, the schools of decline and non-decline in the United States have tangled with each other in open polemics.. In fact, a clear-cut line of demarcation can hardly be drawn between them. The judgment that "America is in crisis" seems to better agree with the reality.