In my experience (teaching in Germany for about three years) it is not uncommon for Europeans to look on in astonishment at the dubious rulings of various gover

In my experience (teaching in Germany for about three years) it is not uncommon for Europeans to look on in astonishment at the dubious rulings of various governing levels in the U.S. and I can sympathize. But I can offer up a few random items which may dispel some of the amazement: The U.S. is a good deal more diverse than any one European country; the difference between Oregon and Texas is somewhat like comparing Iceland to Albania. The U.S. constitution is relatively ancient as compared with most European constitutions (~225 vs 75 years). The U.S. constitution has a number of provisions (first few amendments) which the European constitutions lack and which interact in unexpectedly deep philosophical ways. For instance, freedom of religion, on which substantial U.S. raison d'etre exists, can be a real sticking point when one religion, for example, declares that governmental support of birth control in any form violates their religion. oh and how often am i asked about the gun thing? but i can't really help you there - that really is nutz. So social diversity and deep freedoms of speech, religion, guns, and robust capitalism, that's your witches' cauldron (der Hexenkessel, if you happen to be German)