To Make America Great Again, We Need to Leave the Country

"We are on strike, we, the men of the mind."

This. I've found that business in America have a tendency to try and monetize the entirety of every business transaction. For example, I used to work at Circuit City, and if you came in to buy a TV you'd be amazed how quickly the salesperson would shift the conversation onto cables, power supplies, protection plans, etc. When the end of the day rolled around, and praise was divvied out by the store managers, no one ever talked about the size of the TV so-and-so sold. The praise focused entirely on the "attach".

On the other hand, a Turk will recognize that you are there to carry out a certain business transaction. Turks can haggle and negotiate with the best of them (another aspect of their culture). But you'd better believe that, as you spend half an hour negotiating the price of that rug, the rug seller will have had his assistant bring you tea and simit, and you'll have the most comfortable seat in the place (none of this "make the floor as hard and uncomfortable as possible so that customers complete their transactions quickly"...yes, that is a well known trick in the American retail industry).

Apple does the same thing, especially with their stores. Their computers are not cheap. But Apple will hold free workshops telling you how to use them. Store employees will help you transfer data from your old computer if you need it, and when you come back in a week, you'll get the same reception as you did before you made your purchase, even though you're unlikely to be buying another computer.

Mostly, it's about recognizing your customer as a fellow human being, as opposed to "the next mark"...

"Imagine if a politician were to say, "France has a better health care system than we do." I can almost guarantee that politician would suffer electoral defeat "

Which America this guy is from? In the United States of America in which I am residing, lots of politicians talk all day long about pretty much every developed country in the world having better medical system than US (even though those systems are radically different and the politicians don't even bother to prove they are actually better) and they get regularly reelected. What is this thing with publishing articles in prominent magazines saying "Nobody in US dares to talk about it but I will! Yes, I'll do it and nobody can stop me!". Nobody wants a magazine opinion writer to be a hero - just a competent writer that does not insult the intelligence of their readers.

As somebody who lived in 3 very different countries, I understand learning from different cultures and countries is very useful. But in order to explain that, there's no need to exaggerate the faults of the US and present it as if most Americans are wildly opposed to any foreign ideas or experiences.

France and Germany are not so two-party. In the 53 years of France's current government, they have elected presidents from four parties. In the 22 years since German reunification, they have had presidents from three parties and one independent.

Meanwhile, in the last 159 years, the US has only had Democrats and Republicans.

Also, even if minor parties do not get elected, they offer healthy competition and keep the main parties on their toes. Candidates in the US hate to present concrete plans or answer specific questions. They only have one opponent, so they take the least controversial stance that will differentiate them against the other guy. Offering more information than this minimum required is bad strategy.

If other parties were in the running, candidates would be forced to take positions and offer plans, because they have to differentiate themselves from several opponents.

I don't think changing how we elect people counts as "rebooting the entire system". We would have to eliminate the electoral college, but who would be against that? It is a relic left over from the days when local election results had to travel on horseback with a trusted messenger.

It is, sadly, a very common opinion - if I have the right to pursuit of happiness, the government must provide me with my happiness. Ironically, after a century of bigger and bigger government, the citizens' confidence in the said government and its ability to provide anything resembling happiness has eroded considerably - as the author of the article notices. Even more ironically, the author absolutely fails to make this link, and complains the government doesn't intervene enough to provide the happiness to the people.