I don't believe in some vast conspiracy to reduce our freedom - however our respective governments, acting purely in self-interest and ignorance of what measures would actually work, have the net effect of reducing freedom.
Having lived in the US and UK for a number of years though, I can say that the UK has greater personal freedom. The US believe they have more of it though. But American culture was conformist - if you didn't fit in in some small way you were socially excluded and the authorities would work against you.
It's not a conspiracy, it's an intention, methogically and systematically carried out for many decades by the concentrated power. The intention is to make the "herd" (us, the people, and USA-Americans in particular) apathetic and obedient and making us accept the outrageous US domestic and foreign politics - basically the opposite of what Robin Hood did, with the foreign politic also being ultra violent - but if necessary and/or possible, they will reduce our freedom in every way they can.
The concentrated power and their propaganda system (especially mainstream media) is making the American people apathetic and obedient, by making them
1. afraid of (insert random outer "threat")
2. distracted by bull shit (mind numbing entertainment, drugs, consumerism etc)
3. alienated from each other (which is why a free Internet is dangerous)
4. exhausted (all of the above + sugar + work until you drop)
It's very simple, and very effecient. And what the greedy, sociopathic and short-sighted Masters of the Universe are doing is very, very dangerous. Our species, and maybe all life on earth, is seriously threatened - if not from nuclear blasts, from environmental disaster.
I don't direct this at you, I just want to say this. As much as I dislike a lot of things about and from the USA, I always get pissed of and sad when people are making fun of Americans. First of all, it's rasist. Second of all, it's misdirected frustration. It's not the people you should hate on, it's the concentrated power in the country - and more specifically, their crimes. And remember, the Americans are the ones that are going to change their country, from the inside, and our species might ultimately actually depend on that.
And also, the 9/11 was, apart from it being a tragedy, a brutal awakening for a lot of them. The last decade those of them who didn't already knew have begun to ask sincear questions about their role in the world, and when they are beginning to realize some shit, they become outraged. We should help them.
Besides, pick any democratic country and you see the corporations and the governments fucking their people in the ass now, as 9/11 was a great excuse. Most of them are just much smaller players internationally, and therefore smaller thugs (in terms of size).
And yes, UK seems less conformist than the US, but that's a very general statement. USA is almost as big as Europe. Sure, they have those typical mid-western God-is-in-the-house pretty little towns with their Christian fundamentalist - where I guess you lived? - but also NYC, California, Boston etc. Not to mention all the sub cultures and minority communities.
I love the Internet. Free.
