"That's what people in Russia do"

I remember in my youth, that being from "Big, Bad" Russia meant that you're pretty evil. Russia, and China are countries that are highly influential in the world, but both are often associated with human rights violations.
Perhaps the end justifies the means, and it's ok to torture/kill people that put (or are suspected of putting) the well being of the State at risk with what they say.
Or so the argument goes for many U.S. citizens that think "harsh interrogation tactics" are permissable if someone is even suspected of holding information that puts the State at risk.
But America isn't a developing world power. In fact, it's a waning world power. And the real kicker is we don't care.
The United States doesn't want to ban cluster bombs, which are notorious for their indiscriminant targetting of noncombatants.
As I discussed in my previous posts, The United States is an endemic surveillance society, human rights just don't mean much to the U.S
What happened? What can we do to stop it, or atleast slow it down? Are we still respected members of the international community?