>My point being: much of the western world seems to move towards openness, inclusiveness, and accessibility, whereas the US currently moves backwards, as exempl

>My point being: much of the western world seems to move towards openness, inclusiveness, and accessibility, whereas the US currently moves backwards, as exemplified by the OP. US doesn't just move backwards, it has a very specific behavior mode -- one of a culture that perceives itself to be under a threat of disappearing. It's usually a behavior of a diaspora community that doesn't want to give in to assimilation or a country resisting colonization. Thus a focus on token symbols -- ash crosses, fetishization of language, grandstanding on the most nonsense and minor token issues. The group that exhibits this behavior struggles to put up boundary between "them" and "us".