What is characteristic of our system? What is the characteristic way of life we have? What is characteristic of those living in the political unit of U.S. America?
It is that the person is free to do whatever the person likes. This is the striking characteristic we are discussing here, and immigrants who come to America generally agree about this as perhaps the main quality or characteristic found here in the U.S. They may call it "the freedom system."
Two questions, then, if that's what it is: What is this freedom system? Is it sustainable? Those are two questions that we might ask.
In the foreign countries, it seems that one can test the limits. And then one hears "that's no good...", or, "you mustn't do that."
But in America one cannot find them. Limits, that is---they do not even seem to exist. Yet everyone seems reasonably well-behaved, don't they? Well, OK, there are limits. There is a certain spectrum there, concerning both the freedom and the limits, that spectrum being between stifling and repressive "small town life," and the "open city." It's never perfect anywhere, is it? (Maybe in Tea-Party Land...)
Two questions we were asking, though: where does all this American or U. S. freedom come from? And: is it sustainable? These are the important questions.
The theme of the "What's My Line" T.V. show -- it was quite popular in bygone times like the 50s or 60s -- was that of persons doing different things. Whether you are a dog shampooer, or an airplane pilot, it's all good, just as long as you have some kind of a job.
The basis of do whatever you want-ism ...seems to be get-a-jobism.
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