I was first introduced to the idea that Americans overvalue our Bill of Rights by Stephen Fry in a video on YouTube that I can’t locate currently. As most people are when faced with a new idea that interrupts their worldview laid down since childhood, I was completely baffled; but he raised a good point. We value our rights over justice, over mercy and even over what is right. You know “better a hundred bad men go free than one not be read his Miranda rights” kind of thing. It was a mind-twist to realize that there might be some harm in the way we think as Americans or there might be a better way. Having given it some thought, though, I’m okay with it. Mostly because I have yet to see that better way. But I recognize now that this is an, apparently, uniquely American thought that the world does not understand. If even the British aren’t down with it, then we are truly on our own.
So this article, while interesting, is nothing new to me and even upon reflection, I’m okay with the thinking in the first paragraph and don’t care what the world thinks, they’re just going to have to get over it.
It is telling of their mindset the things they demand our government do. It shows how much control their governments have over their lives and what they willingly accept as legitimate areas of government interference.
Not So Fast 