Reply #71: Can't be proved because it's NOT the greatest democracy in the world

[Swamp Rat]

and it may never be. This is the myth that binds us to an ideal that we are far from achieving. We are in a conundrum of our own making by refusing to deconstruct our superiority complex and analyze its constituent parts. I wish we could be more like France of the 19th century where intellectuals met in cafes to argue, debate and analyze the foibles of our leaders. Instead, myopic thinking rules the day. Many folks here are afraid of ANY political discussion in public. Here in New Orleans, we do have open discussions in our cafes and bars more than some other places in the USA, but it's not as common as say in Paris or Madrid. Even when I lived in Brazil I came across more people interested in political conversation than one would normally find in the USA. What are Americans afraid of?... shattering the myth of American superiority by only discussing the errors of our ways? In fact, three Americans tried to start a fight with me in a cafe in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro after they eavesdropped on a conversation I had with a scholar from Oxford. Apparently they didn't like to hear opposing concepts I held to their own, especially when it came to my view concerning the radical neoconservative movement and the ensuing coup in 2000. Unfortunately for them more than five times their number agreed with me, including their female Brazilian companions who left them at the bar in utter disgust. Sadly, only one of them seemed to even be embarrassed by their ignorance.