I agree with a lot of this. The one exception I would like to mention: I as an American am impressed by Sputnik, Laika, Strelka and Belka, Yuri Gagarin, Valentina Tereshkova and a whole host of steps in the space race that I believe is why we are where we are today in space exploration and satellite technology. They aren’t leading the pack now but they were, maybe recklessly, for a good chunk of the beginning.
*as an achievement in the past 80 years if that wasn’t clear what I meant. ✌️