The words “bull” and “shit” come to mind, reading this breathless line.

The First Amendment is critically broken. Thanks to Citizens United, money is equivalent in law to free speech. Paid lies by anonymous individuals have exactly the same protection in law as truth, as does hate speech.

And yet at the same time, these rights do not apply if the government says so. For example, it is illegal to boycott Israel or advocate for boycotting it in twenty-six of fifty states, and most of these laws were passed during a Democratic Administration, who could easily have contested them if free speech were really important.

If “no other country in the history of the world” has such protection, how come I have free speech rights that you don’t?

Americans should really get over themselves. I lived with you for over thirty years, but the combination of the endless crowing about how wonderful America is, the tremendous misery that the poorest Americans suffer continuously, and the endless foreign wars beloved by both parties — this unholy trinity of smugness finally drove me away forever.