Yes we can have a granular system but then do we acknowledge:

1. Saudi Arabia has made more progress in the right direction (though dictator driven) while the US has elected a rapist, pedophile trafficker of girls who is keen on undoing progress on woman’s rights. One who was elected by millions of voters which suggests that many agree with his worldview.

2. That neither country respects women, even if one has developed more protections overall.

3. Whether your god is Capitalism or a religious deity, women are seen as having less value (monerarily or spiritually).

Please don’t oversimplify my efforts to bring nuance to this discussion. Making a simple ‘Saudi Arabia is worse than the US’ statement without appropriate context opens the door to two inhumane outcomes that I cannot tolerate.

1. The dehumanization of people in Saudi Arabia for having perceivably less progressive values. We can disagree with people and their value system without forgetting their humanity. Unfortunately such arguments were used during the colonial era by Western powers to justify inumerable immoral acts.

2. The dismissal of challenges faced by women in the US because women in other nations ‘have it worse’.

So while I firmly believe both countries are in the category of ‘Needs Improvement’ I am wary of reductive arguments being used to materially worsen conditions for women both here and there.

Americas protection of free speech is tenuous now that’s for sure. But surely there’s a difference between being cancelled and being murdered and chopped into pieces. Right?

At a Yellow Springs (Ohio) village‑council meeting in December 2021 he warned the council that he would pull his multi‑million‑dollar investment—plans for a restaurant and a comedy club—if they approved a zoning change that would allow new duplexes, townhouses and a parcel set aside for affordable housing. He said

“I’ve invested millions of dollars in this town. If you push this thing through, what I’m investing in is no longer applicable… I am not bluffing. I will take it all off the table.

“I cannot believe you would make me audition for you. You look like clowns… I will take it all off the table.”

His main complaint was that the affordable‑housing would sit right next to the site he intended to develop for his restaurant and comedy club which would affect their commercial viability.

The village council ultimately scrapped the affordable housing plan.

https://slate.com/business/2022/02/dave-chappelle-affordable-housing-ohio-yellow-springs.html

Counterpoint: If America gave a fuck about women it

1. Wouldn’t have bought oil from a repressive regime that suppressed woman’s rights for decades and continues to do so.

2. Elected a pedophile rapist who engaged in the trafficking of girls.

3. Mourned and idolized a man who spread a religiously driven message that women should submit to men.

Unless you’re saying supporting either nation implies a lack of support for women. Which would be an undoubtedly reasonable position.

Depends on his intonation. It can come across as complimentary depending on which word he emphasized.

Say what you will about repression of free speech in Saudi Arabia (and there is a lot that can be said), at least with a contract you know where the line is. The royal family knows they’re not proponents of free speech.

America is in that awkward teenage phase of not knowing who they are right now, leaving a lot of ambiguity around free speech.

I appreciate Saudi Arabia’s clarity. Even if they are objectively wrong. America just seems self-righteously confused, if such a state even exists.

The dominant worldview, as reinforced by American culture, is that everything (even our values) can be measured in dollars. All we can do is withhold our financial support from these performers.

I don’t think we should be suprised that America produces people without moral conviction. This is the nation that made Saudi Arabia wealthy by helping it develop its oil reserves followed by oil purchases from the kingdom for decades.

American culture has been brewing megalomaniacs like this for some time now. Celebration of greed and romanticizing the idea that wealth / power need not come with accountability are necessary ingredients.

Of course all empires go through these cycles. What’s uncomfortable, I’m sure for some Americans, is that this usually marks the end of a properous time. Its the “we’re not as special as we used to be, time to throw a tantrum” stage.

Anyone can ask themselves this question - which do you associate modern american culture with? Gratitude or entitlement? That will tell you all you need to know about the direction of the nation.