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10 Freedoms Americans Brag About That Other Countries Quietly Outperform
From Healthcare to Safety These Truths Hit Me Hard After Living Abroad
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I used to think Americans had the market cornered on freedom.
We sing it, salute it, slap it on bumper stickers and coffee mugs, even wear it.
I once even defended it in a pub in Doolin, mid-Guinness, smugly explaining to an Irish guy that no one on Earth was freer than us… while conveniently forgetting he didn’t need a job just to see a doctor.
That illusion didn’t shatter all at once.
It started to fray in France, where a pharmacy visit didn’t come with an anxiety attack and a billing code.
It cracked a little more in Spain, walking the Camino alongside people who weren’t drowning in debt for daring to get sick.
But it snapped entirely in Ukraine, when I realized fellow teachers weren’t juggling three side hustles just to cover rent and therapy.
Then there were the parks in France… open, beautiful, and strangely not crawling with security guards or cops.
