I think we are very much on the same side. I'm not suggesting what the US does is right--I'm criticizing my culture. What I wrote is, to me, inexcusable and deplorable, even as a caricature--albeit one I do not believe is overly broad or unfairly overgeneralized. We need to do much better.

When I say we expect/demand self-reliance, I mean that is the dominant cultural & historical narrative & social expectation here in the US. I do not mean I personally expect or demand that of others as a general rule--but I am expected to. A fair amount of the political division in this country often revolves around where individuals fall on the spectrum of expecting/demanding self-reliance of their fellow citizens. America doesn't care about its poor, homeless, disadvantaged, disabled, and otherwise weaker citizens. In fact, I don't think Americans typically look at such people as citizens at all--or at least not as equals. They are, instead, burdens.