Various powerful people (including liberal intellectuals) got a scare in the sixties. The Vietnam war was ended by a combination of successful guerrilla warfare by the Vietnamese and massive rebellion within the U.S. military and on U.S. streets and campuses. The rebellions were what worried the U.S. masters of the universe. The war on drugs was one response to this, aimed mainly at black people, with the goal of increasing the number in jail. And it escalated over the years. That is not the only form increased repression took, but it is an important one. I will add that finding ways to jail people of color is not new in the U.S. It was more or less an important role of the U.S. criminal justice system from the end of slavery forward. But from Nixon forward we saw a real escalation. As to whether escalating the level of violence in class warfare was stupid or not - I'm not sure it was. The left was completely and deeply broken, to the point where opposing torture is seen as sing of radical leftist extremism. We have leftists but no left movement in the U.S., and ruling class violence played a role in this. (And this not to indulge in self-pity. Lots of left movements survived much worse violence than the attacks that destroyed the U.S. left. Someday I'd be curious to see an analysis of how conditions varied.) Also I'm afraid the attitude that made USAians hard to push around has long since vanished. The smartass who talks back to the boss, the wisecracker who proves to the policeman or the general how foolish they really are, the tough guy is not only tough when he is winning but manages to get in a good crack at the expense of the thug who beats him just before he loses consciousness are no longer heroes in American popular consciousness. Now the wisecracks we admire are the witticisms of bullies - the cracks made by rich frat boys as they make fun of poor people and official U.S. enemies. The hatred of the talk show hosts for liberals and women and gays and people of color. The readiness to believe lies because it is fun to demonize people outside the tribe as long as you are confident there will be no retaliation.
There is an old 19th century story. An Englishman walks up to a cowboy and says: "Good sir, could you kindly direct me to your master?". And the cowboys responds: "The son of a bitch ain't been born yet." It is an example of the attitude that you admire. And there is much that is admirable in it. And today's cowboy's would probably answer "My master? He's up in that air conditioned mansion down the road a piece."
And yet if you look closely, the tribalism and bullying is right there in the story. Why is the interrogator English? Because at the time of the story, England was font of everything weak, and over-refined and un-American in such stories. Getting the best of Englishmen was what a "real American" did when the opportunity arose.