Unfortunately, it's not. Here's another link showing that 9% of all American men will end up in prison at some point in their lives.
https://bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/Llgsfp.pdf
But we're also the most free.
I was brought up to believe that too. It obviously has no basis in fact.
I'd like to see you buy a gun in Japan or defend your property in the UK.
Funny you mention that, as I looked into taking up hunting here. Lots of deer and wild boar - easy pickings. Unfortunately, for the first 10 years of hunting, I would be confined to a single shot shotgun. And it's a pain in the ass to keep the gun. But doable.
But you are right, gun rights is one of the very few areas where Americans are actually freer than most countries. If gun ownership is at the top of your list, the USA is good place for you. If you want to be free to invest your money in start-ups, though, you are out of luck unless you can get on an approved investors list. The government wants to protect you from bad investment decisions.
But you are welcome to buy as many lottery tickets as you want! I can drink a beer on the street or on a beach without worrying about going to jail or getting roughed up by a cop. If I decide to leave Japan, I will just say goodbye and they won't insist on subtracting a large chunk of my wealth before I am permitted to leave, or try to tax my kids worldwide even if they never live a day as adults in Japan. I don't have to worry about Japanese police marching up my street and shooting rubber bullets at me for standing in front of my house. I don't have to pay thousands of dollars in licenses and regulatory compliance if I want to open a small cafe. (I think it was JB's friend who once Googled to show me I am wrong in this, even though I have helped open such shops at least a half dozen times. That's what happens when people rely on Google.)
I am not saying this stuff because I hate the US. I grew up there, and the country once was special. I am saddened and angered to see Americans swallow all the BS they are fed about being free without ever considering how little freedom they actually do have. I wish Americans would take the country back from thugs and criminals, whether they wear Antifa colors, wear blue uniforms, work for the CIA, or live in Washington, DC. The country is divided because people swallow all the BS they are fed.
And, sorry, but it's shocking beyond belief to me that police could storm down a residential street happily shooting people for standing on their front porch - and people accept it! I am sure there are many countries where the police behave as thugs at times. But I can't think of any other country where people are happy about it.
These riots are inevitable. Probably just as inevitable that the younger generation will vote in real fascist before too long. I hate seeing a great country, the place of my birth no less, destroy itself.
