Quote:
|
Quote by: Nono I've asked this question before on this board: In what way are Americans freer than citizens of let's say Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the countries of Western Europe (all of whom are considerably freer than Americans from the threat of death-by-armed-lunatic, to take a for-instance)? |
Well, that's more a security issue than a freedom issue but point taken on the rest of it. Maybe we have a bit freer press or slightly greater economic freedom but I agree that in many ways when you get down to nuts and bolts, the U.S. government has recently claimed the ability to effectively make people disappear without a right to trial, and it has claimed the ability to take your property if it can make a profit off it, the President has acquired the ability to effectively make his own laws, bypassing the Congress and the IRS has demonstrated the ability to come in and trash your place, as well as say you're guilty unless you can prove yourself innocent etc.
We don't need passports to travel from state to state yet, but give it a few more years.
This was quite a while ago, but a friend of mine went to visit Germany and he liked it so much there, he never came back. I can't say for certain but I'd guess that less than a third of Americans really know much outside North America.