it seems to me that from what I have experienced, individuality is not respected or encouraged here in the US. Social reliance upon commercially mineable interaction within certain set rules of social engagement is, however. Dissent and alternative opinion are intrinsically ignored, feared and brokendown upon contact. Recent police activity and their following tribunals and investigations have come to terms with how much the police now over indulge in corrective action.
However, this is but a physical manifestation of an ugly behavioral trait of mass consciousness and the fear in with group thought nurtures.
EOM