@tirsales: you wrote "Actually (wrt both continents) its relatively strange, that freedom on the one hand is valued so high, but OTOH can be neglected so easily (see "new" anti-terror laws in the US or Europe). "
Don't get me started on the subject of the anti-terror laws in the US. Before I start foaming at the mouth, I'll simply note that they're as bad as the
Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798.
Xenophon
<who is now heading off to rant, rave and foam at the mouth

, but will spare you all the awful sight.>