From an interview in the WaPo from September 5, 1984, In the Strange Land Of Robert Heinlein:
You can go to a cocktail party on the campus of a major university and be asked three times what sign were you born under. And we’ve got citizens in this culture who honest to God believe that professional athletes and actors are important people with opinions worth paying attention to!
And
I’m not convinced that we’re going to make it. I’ll bet on the human race. I’m just not sure about the United States of America.
Analysis: Truer today than ever.