No, I’m not starting an "us v. them" kind of thread.

I’m genuinely interested in whether people from countries outside of the United States like or admire or at least tolerate any U.S. policies, social or economic systems, laws etc. If so, what and why?

I am interested in Americans’ views on this too, of course. But the point is to hear from those eurotrippers who have a different perspective on the country.

To give an example, I’ll start:

* I think the Freedom of Information Act, though often dodged or misused, is one of the best American laws. It’s designed to force institutions that function on taxpayers money to provide information to the public. Ideally, the law was created to prevent backroom dealings in government.

That may sound boring, but FOIA requests are far from. —- One author has been battling in DC courts to get ahold of J. Edgar Hoover’s private office files declassified/made public.

Who knows what could be in those files? Proof the FBI had something to do with Martin Luther King, Jr’s assassination? "Compromising" photos of John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe? How bout Hoover’s own stash of gay porn?

Without FOIA, we’ll never know.

What are your opinions?