The US (along with the democratic free world) may have its own problems but it absolutely can claim some sort of moral superiority in many areas. You cite Juli

The US (along with the democratic free world) may have its own problems but it absolutely can claim some sort of moral superiority in many areas. You cite Julian Assange and Edward Snowden. Well, you can freely support, advocate, demonstrate or petition for their cause, in the open. Let me know how it goes for you if you were to try defending political dissidents in Russia, China or North Korea. The fact that we can debate these things in a public forum is proof of our moral superiority. This does not mean there aren't plenty of things we need to learn from these non-democratic societies. We just don't need to reject our moral beliefs to do so.