It's not so much that you have problems with America, Cindi. It's more about that sudden decision to go with France, even though as you agree, you aren't particularly informed about it and are handwaving lots of things because it's more like you've decided and are in filling the reasons after.
I'm fairly sure the only reason french news media is not causing a similar amount of distress is because you can't read it. It's not "try ignoring the issue", more "you might run into the same problems".
Also you're in a sphere that only deals with the most sensational bullshit 24/7, how often are you talking about ANY OF THAT SHIT in normal life with random people you meet?
This was closer to what I was trying to get at by mentioning French political culture. Cindi points to the voter turnout, but isn't aware that the French Left has collapsed repeatedly including recently, the French "normal" Right has too, both in scandals (like go to prison type) and incompetence. The French keep electing Presidents they despise within a year, not at our levels but at single digit support levels. They have only a slightly less FPTP type system that pushes towards two parties and those parties are increasingly turning into races pitting one-and-done technocrats vs. nationalists. And plenty of immigrant blame to go around, especially dark skinned immigrants. Front National is close enough to an electoral power that it's dragging the "traditional" right towards its positions on immigration, "law and order", Islam, etc.
The religiosity thing was how France isn't too far removed from having straight up religion as parts of party platforms, Catholicism, mainly. In the U.S. we have religion but it's a generic-God-lovin kill the gays with abortions, wait, not abortions, type religion. Not one tied to a specific church.
Sure, the United States doesn't riot every time somebody proposes a minor change to some obscure program. But we're also a country that still has the same state from 1789 designed to disseminate our passions away from the public sphere. The French have tried like eight or nine since then and hated all of them including the Fifth Republic. (And nearly had more thanks to crisis like Algeria, etc.)
And then there's the French health care system compared to other European or single-payer ones...
Vom will totally back me up here and not at all point out that I'm exaggerating for effect.
