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Do Americans really believe they live in the freest country on earth?

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plommer

plommer

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Looking for some insight and opinions from Americans regarding these popular beliefs:

* America is the epitome of freedom and democracy, the best form of government the world has ever known.
The world idolizes American freedoms and democracy.

* America is the freest nation on Earth. Freedom is what makes America great.

* It's a free country.

Really interested in hearing from Rito, Shari, and RogueJuror as you all have lived in the USA and "foreign" countries.

Are Americans aware that most of their highly regarded "beliefs" may actually be fiction?
 
http://www.happierabroad.com/ebook/Page31a.htm

These statements about freedom and democracy are programmed into the American populace, who are taught to chant them like religious mantras without thought or examination.

America touts itself to be the epitome of freedom and democracy that the world idolizes and envies, insinuating that the rest of the world has no freedom except America.

Such myths are ingrained into the minds of the American people as religious truths that are unquestionable and universally agreed upon.

They are pretty much an “American religion”, no different than Christian fundamentalists believing that the Bible is the infallible word of God simply because they are told so.
 
Figs 4 Lunch
No, we wish we lived in Canada or Mexico
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I see what you're doing pal, you're giving credibility to the "Americans are idiots" stereotype.

Well played, Bush.

But seriously, as an American do you think you enjoy more freedom than say a citizen of Canada or Mexico?

You don't have to want to live in another country to think about this subject.

Why does America perpetuate the myth that it is the only country in the world that has "freedom" and indoctrinates its citizens with this belief, when this is not supported by any facts, not agreed by the rest of the world or even by well-traveled Americans?

Immigrants and foreigners from other countries do not usually say "Wow we have so much freedom and democracy in America which we never had in our own native country" as Hollywood portrays.

Go ahead and ask them yourself. They do not come to America for its freedoms or democracy, but to earn the almighty dollar and pursue career opportunities. In reality, most in the rest of the world do not see America as an "ideal democracy" but many do see it as an ideal country for making money and pursuing higher career opportunities.

Furthermore, it is not true that most people in the rest of the world want to live in America. Immigrants to the US are predominantly from Asia or Mexico, who come to make money, not for "freedom".

In fact, a large percentage of immigrants regret coming to America, feeling lonely and isolated and wishing they were back in their homeland, which the US media never covers of course.
 
“America is the freest nation on Earth. Freedom is what makes America great.”

This one really takes the cake. The phrase “Freedom is what makes America great” implies that other countries do not have freedom, and that freedom is unique to America, which is so laughable that it insults the intelligence of any international traveler.

First of all, most countries in the world are not dictators under martial law like American movies show. They have most of the same freedoms, and more, but with LESS anal laws and regulations than America does. In most countries, as long as you don’t break the laws, you are free to do what you want and go wherever you want.

How is that any different than in America? You tell me. The only way America could claim to be freer is if there were more, not less, laws and regulations in most countries. But as anyone who has owned a business in the US and other countries will tell you, America has far MORE, NOT LESS, laws and regulations than most countries do!

That right there BLOWS this myth out of the water.
 
For one, the immigrants should want to go back home because we don't have room for any more. I wish we did not allow any in but that's not up to me. As far as freedom goes, no one really gives a shit. We don't walk around in costumes like the Muslims, we don't have our "police" dressed in Mountie outfits like a WWF character, and while many of our women are prostitutes by 13, they aren't prostitutes at 9 (Mexico). Thats enough for me.
 
For some reason, Hollywood and the US media perpetuate this bizarre stereotypical image that ALL countries outside the US are living under facist regimes governed by martial law, with soldiers and machine guns pointed at everyone, keeping them in terror, and that America is the only country free from all that. This is totally bogus and laughable, yet many Americans seriously believe it, sadly enough.


Most countries do NOT live under fascist dictatorships, yet America tries to make it look like they are the only country that is not under a dictatorship. They try to do that by comparing itself with the worst examples of dictatorial regimes, just like any sleazy advertiser does, rather than with mainstream examples to be more accurate. Any rational person knows that to get more accurate and logical comparisons, you need to compare typical examples from both sides.

American media and movies insinuate all the time that all foreign countries are under oppressive fascist regimes, while America alone fights for freedom and democracy. This is extremely inaccurate and does not reflect reality at all. Yet America will NEVER confront this fact of course, for it destroys its own propaganda.

Hollywood is also fond of portraying all immigrants as idolizing America's freedom, and all terrorists as jealous of America's freedom and plotting to eliminate its threat to fascism.
 
Since America is a lonely country where one can only depend on oneself and is socially isolating and segregated as well, with social disconnectedness as the norm, people naturally feel empty inside and need something to believe in, whether it's a religion or blind patriotism in being the freest country in the world.

Otherwise they have no motivation to feel proud and continue being slaves and consumers of the system.

Ironically, though you are expected to be independent and autonomous in America, you are expected to conform to the "herd mentality" mentioned above. It's a silent contradiction that America never bothers to resolve, cause obviously, America isn't interested in intellectual debates over truth, but in profit, power and control.
 
The elite have a vested interest in promoting this illusion. It instills pride in the population, dumbs them down, keeps them ignorant about the rest of the world, and gets them to comply with US foreign policy, including military aggression overseas (tragically) and hostile takeover of foreign lands, under the guise of freedom and democracy.

This is especially the case if you are in the armed forces, in which case you need to be fully indoctrinated into believing that you are fighting for freedom and democracy, in order to instill absolutely loyalty in you, even if in reality you are on the side of evil engaging in an act of military aggression and hostile takeover for profit and power, bombing innnocent civilians in the process. Otherwise you wouldn't follow orders to fight, risk your life or kill others, if you knew the truth.

True freedom is measured by the degree to which you can do what you want you in life without control or interference from others. It is not determined by what the government, media or culture says. If you aren't doing what you want in life, then it doesn't matter who is in your government, you are not free. Of course, commitments such as jobs, marriage, children and paying off a house, can also hamper your freedom to do whatever you want everyday. So, if you value true freedom, the less commitments the better.

But this is not what society teaches about freedom. Instead, it teaches that freedom means being "free to work" and being "free from foreign dictatorships" (though local ones are ok). And of course, it teaches that you are free simply because your culture tells you that you are. But that's not the measure of true personal freedom.
 
I think you are obsessed with the word Freedom. 37 of my current students are from the Middle East. Of the 37, two are cells. That means 35 individuals come to the United States to get an education they cannot get anywhere else, and pay a substantial amount of money to do so. Is that "FREEDOM?," I don't know. All I know is that they came here because it is better than there.
 
America claims its imperialism is about promoting freedom and democracy. That's why America doesn't like to refer to itself as an "Empire" or use the world "Imperial" to describe itself, for such terms contradict its self-ascribed myth that it stands for freedom and democracy (but in reality of course, it stands for power, acquisition, control, dominance and greed).
 
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