If the authorities are not capable of controlling air pollution or bring down the murder rate.... change the authorities.
If the majority of the population is brainwashed by media propaganda, then removing the authorities through democratic means is outright impossible. Then the only option left is through forcible means, which a lot of people would disagree with.
That in a nutshell is the problem in the US. The media has its part for sure but it is really easy to get complacent when life is fairly comfortable. It actually takes effort to engage and when you do engage you are made into a pariah.