I think most of us are less apathetic like Squidward and more just exhausted. We care about a lot of the things happening, but there's so much going on we physically can't keep track of, let alone care about, it all, so we don't. We just don't have the mental or emotional energy for it.
It's not just Americans. As a Canadian we're deeply affected by American situations (plus our own politics). Sometimes the only way to put up with the complex world we live in is a little Squidwardism
Well, let's not pretend any of us even 'need' American influence to become shitty. The entirety of Europe has apparently decided that it's been long enough since WW2 for us to give Fascism another try. Sure, the US influences the world, but we're more than capable of fucking things up ourselves.
While maybe not as bad as the US yet, that image can be recycled for Europe in a short while.
There are few 'viable solutions' that readily present themselves to the concerned voter, so little gets resolved and issues continue to grow and morph. If you look at things through a state by state lens it becomes more cloudy because state laws will affect more immediate issues and can very likely differ. It's hard to command fifty entities in one direction, all worried about various concerns in various directions. Having faith in this Rube Goldberg machine def makes for a bad time, so apathy and hope suffice. System working as intended, do not investigate.
Honestly, that's why despite as much respect as I have for the Constitution and the founding fathers, I sincerely believe that a parliamentary, rather than federal system, would be far more efficient & effective. Sure, problems could effect faster, but so could solutions.