I have also had Europeans tell me how much they admire and even envy America. I also have had them (often the same people) tell me how happy they are with their own country. On the subject of healthcare, I did have dinner in 2006 with an English couple who lived in the America for 5 and 3 years respectively before they were married. Somehow healthcare came up and they bitched and moaned about the NHS, then both looked at each other, laughed and said inspite of its faults the NHS was far superior to what they experienced in the US under their employer provided private insurance. These were well educated London suburbanites...he commuted to London every day to his job with a large hotel chain and she is a stay at home mom...sounds pretty American doesn't it? Every advanced nation has a lot to be proud of and somethings they prefer to forget.