Americans like to enact laws and regulations to regulate behavior they don't like, plain and simple. They have such little tolerance for different aesthetics, political ideas, lifestyles, etc. that aren't exactly like theirs, that they push for laws to govern or outlaw the behaviors they don't like. I swear most of this stuff comes from white Christians... hell, they even managed to outlaw alcohol for a few years. These days it's more subtle, rating systems, arcane liquor laws, Defense of Marriage acts, stricter abortion laws, blocking stem cell research, here in Seattle anti-sitting and panhandling laws, noise ordinances, etc. It bogs down legislatures and city councils with a zillion people pushing civility and nanny laws, it creates piles of red tape and bureaucracy, and it keeps law enforcement and city officials busy hassling decent folks while real crime gets ignored. Shit, I got a notice from the city a few years ago for having my compost pile in my yard too close to the street, it was 8 feet away. Another time I got a notice for having a camper in my driveway when I took off the cab of my truck to haul some arcade games and left the canopy leaning against my garage door for 2 weeks. I can't think Americans had to deal with all this crap even 30 years ago or European countries have half the stupid laws we do. But it keeps government in business, catering to the pussies that don't want you to do anything that bothers them.
