you don't like the draft in the US, which never gets executed?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_Switzerland "Compulsory military service concerns all male Swiss citizens, with women serving voluntarily. Males usually receive initial orders at the age of 18 for military conscription eligibility screening. About two-thirds of young Swiss men are found suitable for service, while alternative service exists for those found unsuitable."
you cite rules about firearms and business as a downside in the US? the most hilarious thing ever. come over to Europe, please, and try to buy a handgun. plus open a business.
no fucking clue about the world, but spewing BS.
talk to leftist/liberals in the countries you've listed, please do. they all complain about the very same things. we have had biometric passports here for a while now, etc.
the big difference between the US and Europe? The US has the means to actually execute their ideas. the EU is slowly moving towards the US model by joining forces and sharing resources.
The draft in the states was used in Vietnam.
Opening a business in ALL of Europe is hard (especially France) but in most of the countries I listed it is easy. Stop grouping all of Europe into one big thing.
Biometric passports are horrible, but the US requires it for certain forms of visitation.
and for the record, I am European, Austrian in fact.
and the US is now requiring it's own citizens to use the biometric passport? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biometric_passport#Countries_us...
now how about that.
"NL Passports issued from 21 September 2009 include fingerprints. Dutch identity cards are lookalike versions of the holder's page of the passport and contain the same biometric information."
You're misinformed and wrong, but you'll never admit it. Whatever.
In fact, I think the move to not draft those signed up (forcibly, I agree) is the reason that some of the other points (e.g.: #2,#3) are even issues - if the burden of war were spread in a regular manner (and forcibly) on the US populace, there would be very little tolerance for war... all those armchair soldiers buying guns would be off fighting a war or suffering through a family member getting killed/wounded involuntarily (just like the poor citizens of the country that's being occupied).
Freer in terms of personal freedom, civil rights, economic freedom.
In the US you have:
1. Forced to sign up for the draft.
2. Your "Army Reserves" and "National Guard" DEPLOYED to fun places like Afghanistan on a rotating schedule. No they did not agree to it, reserves are meant to defend a country when it is attacked, not to be pulled into a regional conflicts. Canada for example, has reserves, but they arn't in Afghanistan unless they volunteer to.
3. Every call and email monitored.
4. A militarized police state.
5. Massive hidden intelligence budgets.
6. Drug sales by intelligence forces.
7. 5% of GDP just on the military, let alone "intelligence" and "security" (NSA / CIA / TSA / etc).
8. Private prisons with bribed judges.
9. 1% of men in jail, CURRENTLY (with more on parole).
10. 0.5% of women in jail.
11. Domestic drones.
12. Laws against using cryptography without registering it with the NSA.
13. The most aggressive fingerprint collection system out of any country in the world.
14. Unbearable licensing for alcohol, firearms, businesses, hair dressers (state dependent).
15. Project mockingbird (seriously wtf is the point of a "free press" if your own CIA has infiltrated it).
16. A do not fly list that has millions of people on it none of which can contest the reasons why. This is made worse since it was held up by the courts (under the guise that they can always take a train). In Canada we have less than a thousand people and there is a mechanism for challenging it.
America only feels free while you are there and under the radar.