I wish I had some real data to give you as examples, without talking about Top Gun, the military-industrial complex or reducing the conversation to personal anecdotes about my experiences in the US.
As you said attitudes differ place-to-place, and I don't want to generalize all Americans, I would say it's safe to assume our Hacker News audience is more likely to be Liberal and Educated then the general American populace. However as a Canadian here's some crap I came up with out my ass:
Military force as a perceived requirement or definition of 'freedom' doesn't exist at your scale elsewhere.
Glorification of war and gun violence in Hollywood, Gaming and on the News, general fear-mongering and militarization of the police.
You guys have been involved in some war or another for about as long as you've been a country..
--
Hope I didn't offend anyone, here's at least one link as support..
As you said attitudes differ place-to-place, and I don't want to generalize all Americans, I would say it's safe to assume our Hacker News audience is more likely to be Liberal and Educated then the general American populace. However as a Canadian here's some crap I came up with out my ass:
Military force as a perceived requirement or definition of 'freedom' doesn't exist at your scale elsewhere.
Glorification of war and gun violence in Hollywood, Gaming and on the News, general fear-mongering and militarization of the police.
You guys have been involved in some war or another for about as long as you've been a country..
-- Hope I didn't offend anyone, here's at least one link as support..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_e...