Right on, Sir Charles
Why do so many people think Americans are so different from the rest of the world? The biggest difference is that we get far more coverage by a _free_ press than most of the rest of the world.
The behavior of the rich and powerful hasn't changed one iota since we quit swinging by our tail. The difference, again , is a free press. It is everywhere now, 24/7, and the competition for headlines is cutthroat. Anybody with an axe to grind will provide negative news to the press and it will be transmitted to the world as quick as the producer cues the announcer.
All this exposure has created an "anything goes" attitude among those who would ordinarily behave differently, but the rich and powerful have and have always had the attitude that what they can get away with is what's right.
International borders have nothing to do with it.
