(via GNXP) I loved this chart from a recent Economist article:

Few things bug me more than commentators who subconsciously put European (& Canadian!) governance up on a pedestal and chastise the US for being "behind" for one reason or another.   This survey clearly demonstrates what's really going on -- we're different and we want different things.   MANY corners of the blogosphere (my site included) wax at length about the relative merits of the "Individual Freedom" vs. "Individual Security" poles so I won't go into it in new detail here.   It should be clear which pole I lean towards   ;-)

It's interesting / unexpected to see the Germans & French 'outscore' the Brits on this security vs. freedom measure. (albeit marginally)