If only. But I am afraid the story Americans are told about their own importance is part of the propaganda machine.
The US has been framed to benefit the wealthy at the expense of everyone else for a very long time. The people don't want widespread AR-15 ownership. Gun manufacturers do. So you get the guns.
The people don't want to assume the risk when Wall Street makes bad bets. But Wall Street wants to chase the opportunities and to socialise their risks. So you get Wall Street levering debt higher like it's 2008 all over again. And they ain't exposed to the cost if things go belly up. The US people are.
If you are looking for a model of a society designed to provide a balance between the common good and individual opportunity, I'd say look at countries like Denmark.
But the way US citizens are brought up to assume their own exceptionalism, many think they can learn nothing from anyone's example. And that is a pity.
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