[chillacy]

That assumes that there's one linear cultural progression and America is simply a younger version of Europe. I don't think that's necessarily true. It could be that America is on a different cultural arc entirely, driven by differing fundamentals (land vs population, history, economy, etc).

Americans have thought similarly about Asia for awhile now, the thought being that Japan, then Singapore, then China, would adopt more American beliefs about free speech and freedom of the press. That hasn't quite happened to this day. I don't think it would ever happen unless the fundamentals change.

An analogy: The snow fox tells the forest fox that red fur is a liability, and you should have white fur like me to stay safe.