| Well, folks, when I first read this, my reaction was one of simple shock. How could my own nation, the US, have been given a 33/40, or a B-?! I thought I'd hurry up and node a rebuttal. I copied the list of rights into notepad and started sorting through them. I don't like what I see.
First, I looked at the list as might someone totally brainwashed by the system. I was forced to discard:
This gave the US a 38/40, or a high A. Yay us.
I then started thinking, as nearly as I could, in a completely objective way, and went back through the list. I kicked out:
Barely made a B that time. The 32/40 I gave us shows that I grading harder than the UN did, or we've gotten less free. Take your pick.
Final round. This time, I was an absolute devil's advocate, leaving us with only those freedoms that I could find no reason to scratch off the list. I mercilessly wiped away:
The US, "Land of the free, and the home of the Brave," gets a 23/40. 57.5%.
Flunk out, go work at a fast food joint somewhere. I'm eighteen years old. What kind of nation is this that I'm going to be living in?
* Many people have had property confiscated due to drug charges that were never brought to court.
** I'm a college student. Some of the things I have read about in the campus newspaper make it a miracle this one made it past the second pass.
I realize that this might be seen as one of those 'highly subjective writeups,' but I really think it's high time for some discussion on this. Any comments, by all means, respond below. As an American, some of the things I realized as I was typing this, to be blunt, really frightened me, and I think it needs discussion. | 
