Friday, January 14, 2011

Is Britain 'freer' than America?

Straight Shooting Luke Smitherd - there's no man deadlier with a set of Harrows Aliens

The other day, my friend and deadly darts ace Straight Shooting Luke Smitherd left a really interesting comment on this post:
"My plan/dream is to move to the states in the next two years. But more and more I hear about an increasing conservative culture over there and it really makes me rethink it."

"I wouldn't say I was a liberal, I just believe in people's individual freedoms to live whatever lifestyle they want and believe in whatever they choose. I thought America would be a place where I could thinks and act more freely and get away from English cynicism and reservedness; but it's starting to look like it's more oppressive in other ways."

"I want to get say from small minded idiots, not find a load more."
It was interesting because it's my earnest belief that America remains far freer than Britain in all sorts of ways.

Obviously, part of this is because I live in New York – which is one of the most liberal parts of the country. However, all across America there are so many ways in which the US grants you more freedoms than back home in Britain.

It's difficult to list them all – but here are a few.

America is more open-minded.

The United States doesn't have a great international reputation when it comes to racism and homophobia – but most of the negative stuff is undeserved.

This is because America is infinitely more diverse than England – where the population is generally white and Christian. As a result, most people over here are actually a lot less judgmental than Brits would be. When you meet an American, you can't take anything about them for granted – their religion, political affiliation, race or class.

For that reason, Americans are genuinely open-minded and curious when they meet new people, whereas in England they automatically make a shopping list of assumptions based on how somebody looks, dresses and (worse of all) talks.

"It's impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman despise him," the old saying goes – and it's true.

For example, I speak with a Received Pronunciation Accent (the Queen's English) and therefore am assumed to be a posh public schoolboy by all who meet me (despite the fact I went to comprehensive and grew up on a farm.)

We seem to have an inbuilt snobbery, us Brits, which means we're instantly peering down, or resentfully peering up, at those we think feel they are 'beneath' or 'above us.' (It's never about whether we feel they're beneath us or above us - it's how we assume they feel about us.)

And while you'll here horror stories from America – the Westboro Baptist Church picketing funerals with signs that read "God Hates Fags" and inner city kids becoming the victim of race-fueled violence – the statistics actually show that Britain has it worse for 'hate crimes' based on race or sexuality.

In the past year, hate crimes grew by 12% in the UK, and just 7% in America – and much of that was fueled by redefining 'hate crimes' to include people targeted because of their sexuality.

For me, the benefit of America being more open-minded is that they don't bat an eyelid at the crazy shit I do. Sometimes, I dress in a Victorian waistcoat, and I drive a gas-guzzling classic car. In Britain, people had a tendency to shake their heads at my 'odd' behavior (we love conformity, us Brits) whereas in America it's not just tolerated, but cherished.

(I can also walk down the street without somebody yelling 'ginger!' at me – which occurred daily back in Blighty!)

I feel more 'free' in America because I really do have the freedom to be myself without feeling like I'm under the microscope, which (whether it's true or not) I often did in England.

America protects more freedoms.

We Brits watch too much American TV.

This is why we have the mistaken impression that we enjoy many of the same freedoms as Americans boast about in their touted 'Bill of Rights.' The fact is, however, that we don't.
  • We don't have true freedom of expression – just ask talk radio host Michael Savage, or Freedom Party MP Geert Wilders, who were both banned from entering the country for criticizing Islam. Just talk to spanking model Pandora Blake, who has found that the soft-core spanking videos she makes could be defined as 'extreme porn' by very loosely-worded legislation recently passed by parliament. Daft politicians are even trying to put the perennial Page 3 girl out of a job. Even worse than the legal wrangling is the frankly pathetic culture of conformist, 'political correct' fascism that tries to muzzle dissenting opinion – something we're all complicit in.
  • We don't have true freedom of religion – just ask two Christian missionaries, who were threatened with arrest for handing out leaflets in a predominately Muslim part of town. In fact, we have an 'established' religion – the Church of England – which is the opposite to America (which, contrary to popular opinion, is a secular nation.)
  • We don't have the freedom to bear arms – whether you believe in gun control or not, you can't deny that the right to own a gun is a freedom. That covenant is sacred to American society – a bond of trust between the government (that assumes – occasionally incorrectly – that people are responsible enough to own guns) and the people (who own guns so that their government can never overreach their authority, as the British forces did during the American revolution.) I'm not a big fan of guns, but I appreciate the sentiment that we, as individuals, are assumed to be smart enough to safely and responsibly look after a deadly weapon. In Britain, it's assumed we're too stupid and irresponsible, so the only handguns are carried by criminals.
  • We don't have the freedom from self-incrimination – the Fifth Amendment in America establishes the right not to incriminate yourself, by remaining silent if arrested. In Britain, the process of arrest was changed in the 90s to basically establish 'silence' as inferring guilt – and the European Court of Human Rights declared "The court did not accept that the right to remain silent and the right not to incriminate oneself were absolute rights." Such a ruling would be unthinkable in America.
  • Most notably, we don't have the freedoms protected by the Ninth Amendment of the American Constitution: Protection of rights not specifically enumerated in the Constitution. This basically establishes that just because the founding fathers hadn't thought of a particular right as being sacred back in the 1790s, it didn't mean it wasn't a protected, sacred right. A good example is the right not to be discriminated against because of your sexuality, which would have never crossed James Madison's mind when he penned the Bill of Rights.
The fact is, legally, we enjoy many, many rights that Europeans and Brits don’t. We Brits don't seem to realize this sometimes, but it's absolutely true.

And finally, in America you can do anything.

If you put your mind to it, that is.

In Britain there is, as Luke eloquently put it, a certain "English cynicism and reservedness."

We are a culture that elevates people to a certain level (the likes of Jade Goody, for example) but swiftly turns on them if they get too big for their boots.

It's not just Prince Charles who believes Brits should 'know their place' in the social hierarchy. Those who are successful and raise themselves on the socio-economic ladder are often dismissed as nouveau riche - while many middle class idiots still speak with affected regional accents and boast of their 'working class roots' even though they drive Audis and live in the suburbs.

In America, conversely, two things are different.

For a start, people value hard work. From the waitress in a café to the guy stocking shelves in the supermarket, nobody is looked down upon for working hard. Warren Buffett and a janitor could share the same elevator and the richest man in the world would not think himself superior to a man on minimum wage.

I discovered this when I first moved to America, and got a job waiting tables to make ends meet. I was dreading it – stupidly imagining myself to be 'above' ferrying food back and forth. Yet nobody looked down on me, thought less of me or mocked me. It taught me a valuable lesson in both humility and pride, if that's possible.

Secondly, people admire the successful.

If you pull yourself up by your bootstraps and become a millionaire despite the odds, Americans don't look at you as nouveau riche or complain that you've developed 'airs and graces' or forgotten where your roots are.

They think "good for him" and try and follow your example.

This also ties into my first point – about Americans being open-minded and not making assumptions about people they meet. This is because the guy in the ten-year-old Lincoln Town Car with the scuffed shoes could be the richest guy in the world (in fact, it's a description of Warren Buffett.) People assume money defines you in America. In fact, it's hard work –which is one of the reasons we suffer under such a brutal work schedule.

There are more freedoms I could list – I'm sure I'll think of a million of them when I'm driving into work next. However, those are just some of the more obvious – and I'm thankful every day for them.

I really, really hope Luke gets the chance to move to America one day, because I am certain he'll love it here.

He's smart, ambitious and charming and has everything needed to succeed here. What's more, Luke is a real character (when I worked with him, my colleagues would joke that he's the only guy they knew who made me look normal!)

In America, I think he'd find himself feeling more open and comfortable about being himself than he ever could in England.

I know I certainly did!

7 comments:

Susanne said...

"Sometimes, I dress in a Victorian waistcoat, and I drive a gas-guzzling classic car. In Britain, people had a tendency to shake their heads at my 'odd' behavior (we love conformity, us Brits) whereas in America it's not just tolerated, but cherished."

I love your odd side,Roland! :) It's cute that your friend Luke makes you seem normal! Ha, ha!

Expat mum said...

This is an excellent post - even though I disagree with you. Yes, on paper it appears that the US has more freedoms, but I quite often feel very opressed by the political correctness everywhere and the conservative values that most people have. It's obviously different where you are, but most of the rest of the country is much less liberal (with a small L).

It's definitely a cultural thing rather than a practical one. Americans think they have the absolute in freedom, but recent governments have shown that they can be as dictatorial and secretive as the next, and peer pressure either from lunatics with guns or just odd looks from the neighbors, keeps a lot of people in their place.

PS. I also think that we Brits get away with a lot more than most!

geekymummy said...

Agree 100%. I live in San Francisco, another bastion of liberalism, but I think you make excellent points.

paperdetective said...

I like your pro-America vision, but unfortunately the 'America that was' is not the 'America that is' anymore. I experience that daily, after having becxome an American by choice coming here with the same dream you have over there.

Censorship is rampant here. Many words are not allowed to be used here thanks to the political correctness culture. Radio and TV stations now have to build in a delay to be able to bleep out offensive words so they do not get fined.

Descrimination by race, gender, age, sexual orientation, handicap etc. are explicitly forbidden in many industries and in housing and hiring practices here.

The freedom of carrying guns is restricted in many states and cities by making the licensing so hard and expensive that most people give up on it.

Schools are heavily regulated, even homeschooling is, and the new school vouchers systems being introduced pretend to bring freedom but actually are a foot in the door to getting control of private schools. Note that you guys in the UK, with all your faults, still have the complete freedom to homeschool, and no government strings attached whatsoever.

Most of our US judges now ignore the US constitution and the bill of rights and interpret it now towards their own political affiliation, no objective law. The recent Kelo case showed that the US Supreme Court now denies our absolute property rights by allowing private developers to use local governments to confiscate private property by eminent domain against one's will and even often without proper compensation. So one group of citizens can now confiscate another citizen's property.

A 'culture of envy' or 'tall poppies attitude' like in England has developed here bigtime and it is even more nasty than in the UK. People do not mind their own business here anymore. They are in your face all too often, which is best reflected in you as employee and citizen expected to be super altruist, which is indoctrinated with a daily feed of 'having to pay back to 'the community and elevating 'community' to a virtue and mandatory for school children.

I'm sorry to say that America has turned fascist and has all the hallmark symptoms (even the rabid irrational envy and persecution of illegal immigrants, most of whom work very hard and are very courageous).

Do not consider the 'tea party' rallies as a good symptom. These guys are on the surface nice fiscal conservatives and for small government, but in reality they just want to impose different controls, for example on others, like further controls on abortion and immigration.

paperdetective said...

I like your pro-America vision and wish with you it were real, but unfortunately the 'America that was' is not the 'America that is' anymore. I experience that daily, after having become an American by choice coming here with the same dream you have over there.

Censorship is rampant here in the USA. Many words are not allowed to be used here thanks to the political correctness culture. Example: A company like Ebay is forced to censor its site's listing text for words like Jap and Negro and sex related and WWII related stuff. Radio and TV stations now have to build in a delay to be able to bleep out offensive words so they do not get fined. A law instituting 'citizen committees' to supervise radio stations is in the making.

Descrimination by race, gender, age, sexual orientation, handicap etc. are explicitly forbidden in many industries and in housing and hiring practices here.

The freedom of carrying guns is restricted in many states and cities by making the licensing so hard and expensive that most people give up on it.

Schools are heavily regulated, even homeschooling is, and the new school vouchers systems being introduced pretend to bring freedom but actually are a foot in the door to getting control of private schools. Note that you guys in the UK, with all your faults, still have the complete freedom to homeschool, and no government strings attached whatsoever.

Most of our US judges now ignore the US constitution and the bill of rights and interpret it now towards their own political affiliation, no objective law. The recent Kelo case showed that the US Supreme Court now denies our absolute property rights by allowing private developers to use local governments to confiscate private property by eminent domain against one's will and even often without proper compensation. So one group of citizens can now confiscate another citizen's property.

Any little town here regulates and permits even the simplest business. I cannot for example have more than a part-timer employed at my homebased business and business traffic to my own home is also restricted. I have to ask them for permission to start a home business in my own house!

A 'culture of envy' or 'tall poppies attitude' like in England has developed here bigtime and it is even more nasty than in the UK. People do not mind their own business here anymore. They are in your face all too often, which is best reflected in you as employee and citizen expected to be super altruist, which is indoctrinated with a daily feed of 'having to pay back to 'the community and elevating 'community' to a virtue and mandatory for school children.

I'm sorry to say that America has turned fascist and has all the hallmark symptoms (even the rabid irrational envy and persecution of illegal immigrants, most of whom work very hard and are very courageous).

Do not consider the 'tea party' rallies as a good symptom. These guys are on the surface nice fiscal conservatives and for small government, but in reality they just want to impose different controls, for example on others, like further controls on abortion and immigration.

America has turned from a country one could assess at face value to a country that hides its true identity and the veneer is starting to peel off quickly. The true America you and I seek has not been in existence since the 19th century Industrial Revolution. We have only been seeing remnants of that time pop up occasionally, but they were never representing the current dominant culture. Admiration for personal achievements, for business people, for success has eroded.

Nowadays self-reliance is rare and a culture of dependency, altruism, victimhood and envy is common here.

HydroBooster said...

Great article, but I wonder if you still feel that way now that the '#OccupyWallStreet' crowd have moved into the neighborhood. As one of those proverbial 99% who are not wealthy, I certainly do not think that the 99 speak for me, but they have a right to be as ignorant as they choose to be.

Anyway, I did find your article to be a refreshing reminder of the freedoms I sometimes take for granted in the US. :D Nicely done!

Roland Hulme said...

Hi Hydrobooster! The Occupy crowd are a very interesting look at the US. I personally disagree with their outlook because you look at some of the 1% - Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Warren Buffett - and you realize they started life as the 99%. Being the 1% isn't an entitlement - you have to earn it. I imagine doing so is possible in America, whereas it might not be back home in Europe.