Is the United States Less Civil?

This is a really interesting thought... the last week has drawn attention to this idea, that as a society we are less "civil" than we once were. Examples run from Serena's meltdown at the U.S. Open to Kanye West's interruption of Taylor Swift's acceptance speech, to Joe Wilson's "You Lie" outburst during President Obama's health care speech to Congress.

To me, the implication from all this is more of a reflection of certain societal values, mainly individualism, that are intrinsic in the U.S. We are one of the most individualistic societies in the world - we value individual freedoms, rights, and general entitlement to things more so than most societies. Is it any wonder that people feel justified in voicing their opinions even in less-than-appropriate circumstances?

Certainly there weren't ill intentions by most of the above. Serena felt slighted by a call, Kanye felt Beyonce was overlooked, Joe Wilson was frustrated... but the manner in which they chose to voice those opinions negated the value those opinions might have. F bombs by Serena, rushing the stage by Kanye, and a hot-headed outburst by Joe Wilson have made them the fodder of gossip shows and cocktail parties.

Part of me wonders whether there are so many underlying factors to our sense of individualism. Rights to voting and certain things seem obvious but don't exist around the world. Others, like rights to guns are important in terms of our history but seem to be causing some extremely unfortunate consequences.

Take for example international murder rates. The United States is not the highest, certainly, but it is the immediate company of Turkey and Kenya at almost 6 per 100,000. Nearby are Albania and Namibia. Higher countries include Iraq, Peru, Zimbabwe. But our "western friends" are all much lower than us - the UK at 2, France at 1.59, Spain 1.27, Italy 1. So is China, at 2.36. Even Israel is 1.87. South Korea even lower than that. In the US there is this fascination with murder, be it Lacy Peterson or the O.J. Simpson trial. And I'm guilty too, I look and read and talk about it. But it's part of our culture, and something that was noticeably absent when I lived in England, Italy, and Tanzania.

This sounds like a term paper but I'm really just thinking aloud... it makes me question whether I want to raise a family in the US. We are an individualistic culture, which has tremendous benefits but also unfortunate offspring like violence. We also want to be heard when we have something to say, and we feel entitled to do that and unable to control ourselves, in a lot cases. I'm no exception to that. But all the teasing about Serena, Kanye, and Joe Wilson aside, it's somewhat unsurprising that these types of incidents are common even if outrageous.