Why can’t we be more like Norway? Because we aren’t a small ethnically homogeneous petrostate.
Why can’t we be more like Denmark? Are you kidding? Up until a few years ago Denmark was a tiny country (about the size of Maryland with the population of Minnesota) 98% of whom were ethnic Danes and cultural Lutherans.
Why can’t we be more like France? We actually are quite a bit like France except that we’re much larger and more diverse and we don’t have an official arm of the government telling us to speak English, how it should be spoken, and insisting on American-ness. Can you imagine the uproar if there were a government agency insisting on American-ness? But Frenchness is a fundamental building block of modern France.
Why can’t we be more like Germany? Again, we are actually quite a bit like Germany except that Americans are much worse about following the rules than Germans are. Imagine Germany without order and that’s us.
Why can’t we be more like Italy? California is a lot like Italy except that it’s enormously more diverse and it’s full of money-grubbing Americans. Italy is likely to become more like California.
