Americans have a special horror of giving up control, of letting things happen in their own way without interference.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
When even one American - who has done nothing wrong - is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth - then all Americans are in peril.
I believe the American people have a genuine and justifiable fear of government intrusion in what they instinctively know is going to be an ever more intrusive world.
It's painfully obvious to see that as Americans we can sometimes be wrapped up in our own affairs.
Americans have discovered fear.
Americans' great and secret fear is that America may turn out to be a phenomenon rather than a civilization.
Many Americans abhor paternalism. They think that people should be able to go their own way, even if they end up in a ditch. When they run risks, even foolish ones, it isn't anybody's business that they do.
The way Americans understand and treat other peoples almost guarantees that the world will suffer more trouble.
America had the message of freedom and democracy, but we haven't actually shown that to be what we do in the world. So I think that's a terrifying thing.
The whole American experiment has been predicated on giving individuals as much control over their own lives as possible.
Americans are uneasy with their possessions, guilty about power, all of which is difficult for Europeans to perceive because they are themselves so truly materialistic, so versed in the uses of power.