| We are a selfish country, and we have trouble with the poor. I blame certain religions in our country for that to some extent- the whole "you are rich because God is blessing you" meme is problematic. Europeans, who have more historical understanding of inherited aristocracy, have greater sensitivity to unfairness, and the advantage wealth and power play when you raise children. Americans pretend there is no class system here, and turn a blind eye to the fact that most people in America are hemmed in by their class- birth is destiny, much of the time. Sure, we can hold up people who defeated that system, and rose above the class of their parents, but mostly people don't. Because so many Americans are so entrenched in the religion of America (upward mobility, the Horatio Alger myths) they don't have the same sensitivity to the poor, the working poor, and the lower middle class that folks in Europe have. Which is not to say there aren't antisocial anti-poor people in Europe, but there sure aren't as many of them as we have. |
