I don't live in America, but I think this is related to the unprecedented mass communication that has been made possible by the internet, and as cliche as it sounds it truly made borders disappear between different countries, contents and cultures, which is making this generation exposed to things previous generations didn't even think they exist or have people believe in it, the only countries that seem a bit isolated from this are the ones who have their own internet circles because of language or laws.
But I'm a little optimistic that this would eventually pass with time, If we apply `Tuckman's stages of group development` to the whole world and communication between its parts I think we are in storming phase.