I've been thinking about this exact subject a lot lately, when I see evidence of what appears to be stupidity of Americans on a breathtaking scale. I think it is also a part of this: the American attitude of damn the torpedos, added to the Wild Wild West and extreme independence pull oneself up by the bootstraps type of attitude. It is almost as if it is hardwired into our DNA. Maybe from watching too many Westerns or perhaps our conflicted sense of freedom. But, freedom comes at a price and people here haven't quite realized that yet.