I think this is typical of US. I've tried to understand this stark difference to e.g. most of europe as a non-US citizen and this is the best explanation I've

I think this is typical of US. I've tried to understand this stark difference to e.g. most of europe as a non-US citizen and this is the best explanation I've come with. Please, correct me if I'm wrong or misguided - I'm trying to figure this out myself. In the US tradition, the government takes a hands off approach and lets private entities figure it out in the courthouses what is actually an accepted convention and what is not. Unfortunately this means there is one less player with a huge leverage defending the good life of an individual. When the US was created 'strong government' was considered adverserial for the checks and balances they tried to put in place - and it also probably reeked of monarchy and tyranny. I think the reason lot of US conventions seem strange is that they are constructed from this aversion to big government. With the rise of the military-industrial complex and the state intelligence and security forces US has, it appears at least to me that the influence of the government in the US system is larger than originally intended, and not necessarily in ways that benefits the private citizen. That's why it now appears odd that while US is this economic and military juggernaut the lives of it's private citizens are surprisingly fragile and ill defended.