prerYDog, I would guess from your posts and your devotion to individual and privacy rights, that you're fed up with the intrusiveness of the federal government, and would fall somewhere, politically, to the right of George W. Bush and his regime.
What you bring up is an interesting question, then. There are plenty of better-run countries out there, if you see things from a liberal perspective. But if you're a die-hard conservative, what alternatives (at least when we're talking about democracies) are there? I've never given it a whole lot of thought, but the U.S. is probably the most knee-jerk conservative of the big industrialized nations, isn't it? (Maybe Mexico? The poor seem to get a pretty raw deal down there.) The U.S. certainly can't seem to win when it comes to what most of the world considers vital statistics (poverty rate relative to overall wealth, children living in poverty, access to free health care and education, other forms of social welfare).
But where do you go if you're a die-hard, freedom-loving, Libertarian and you still want to be able to vote in the country you live in? I guess maybe you give that up, and you find a strong-armed dictatorship that's devoted to a conservative agenda. Saudi Arabia probably fits the bill, that way. But one warning: I think the non-democracy route only really works if you've got a whole lot of cash. If that's the case, something like the Cayman Islands will probably let you look at police officers any way you'd like, and also keep their big fat noses out of your family's photo album.
But I think that if you want something with a one-person-one-vote policy, then the good ol' U.S. of A. is probably the most conservative outfit in the world's mix. If you value the right to keep a gun, sneak around without anyone knowing who you are, or to call other people any name you want, then I think your options are staying here the U.S. or -- for even less intrusion -- one of those survivalist/supremacist/militia-type camps in the West, or your own little Unabomber-style cabin.
Am I wrong? Maybe Israel is further right, now? I'd be interested in other people's opinions. As I've said, this is something I've never thought much about.
America is such a stronghold for that 'Don't tread on me' mentality. Are there other countries
more dedicated to it?
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Jack Olsen
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[This message has been edited by JackOlsen (edited 10-30-2001).]