you're not entirely wrong, but the purpose of the "degeneracy" in the united states is not incidental. it's a sweetener for the military and corporate empire, to make it go down easier. there is a certain class of comfortable modern citizen that is viscerally repulsed by all this "honor" stuff you guys go nuts for. by positioning itself as a guardian of free choice and hyper-individualism ("degeneracy") the u.s. makes itself an acceptable hegemonic power to the global bourgeoisie. you can't have the military might without the degeneracy, any more than you can rip the engine out of a car, drop it in another car, and expect it to work.
United States