sweet land 'o liberty

Ironically, in 1831, the same year that Tocqueville was traveling across America and observing the lack of free thought and discussion, Samuel Francis Smith was writing the lyrics to the song America. ("Our country 'tis of thee . . .") The song, written in Andover, Massachusetts, was a tribute to freedom, and the country that allowed it. ("Let freedom reign.")
The simultaneous occurrence of these two events to seems like more than a coincidence. Tocqueville came to America expecting something radically different, a new, truly free mentality, revolutionary thought . . . and instead found peaceful country folk singing to a flag. Where was this "freedom" they all spoke of? Where was the passion, the courage, the guile that had spawned this new and interesting government? Where were all the angry frenchmen?
His assessment, that individuality was lost in a massive "group think," was not entirely accurate. While Tocqueville did observe a painful contradiction in the very concept of democracy, his interpretation was wrong. An educated, engaged, and politically active population is necessary for a healthy democracy. But in America, when all forms of oppression were removed, the passion for change subsided and politics were prioritized behind personal achievement. Content with majority rule, the people become complacent and willing to accept the status quo, as long as it did not interfere with their freedom.
In America, this complacency has, over time, allowed those in control to erode freedom in a more subtle way. Elite interests dominated our government, our media, even our way of thinking. Unfortunately, the responsibility to form educated opinions, to think, and to CARE is not as ingrained in the American pysche as a love for "freedom." And this lack of responsibility is far more to blame for our limited scope of opinion than Tocqueville's explanation that we are somehow afraid of, or repressed by, the masses.
The question of how freedom itself can be oppressive was discussed in Plato's The Republic. "The excess of liberty, whether in States or individuals, seems only to pass into excess of slavery" Is there such a thing as too much freedom? I say, no, both Tocqueville and Plato were too pessimistic on the subject, underestimating mankind's ability to bring about change and progress when it's truly needed. But freedom must be preserved by a concerned and aware public to survive profit-driven attempts to exploit it. America needs to believe that freedom is a complicated thing, hard work, and that it disappears as soon as it is taken for granted. Perhaps the real difference between democracy in America versus the rest of the world is that they remember what it was like to live without it.