As an American who lives in Norway, I understand just how confusing this may be to you. The difference, I have come to believe after living here for a few years

As an American who lives in Norway, I understand just how confusing this may be to you. The difference, I have come to believe after living here for a few years, stems from a different perspective on long- and short-term interests. Americans are, in general, I think (please note this is my opinion and do not down vote me for making this observation) more likely to support solutions that appear to resolve the given issue in the most intuitive and seemingly fastest way. While the intention may be good, this rather simplistic view contradicts the reality that subtler, research-based and longer-view solutions are often the wiser choice. Examples of this include things like research into prison sentences and conditions and their relation to recidivism rates; or ideas about parental leave being better for businesses in the long term, despite the short term loss of productivity. In this particular case, it is an issue of very short-term thinking from the police who do not realize that their draconian tactics, which seemingly are for the best interest of security today, are in fact more likely to engender civil unrest (or emigration, in my case, since I have no appetite for that) in the long run.