Americans can show good judgment, and do have a conscience, and are willing to be reasonable - if the other side is being reasonable too.

It is better not to have a rule at all, than to have one which is not taken seriously, because disregarding the rules grows habitual.

Brazil serves as an object lesson in how government incompetence - not greed, not really bribery even, certainly not totalitarianism, just simple incompetence - can make life difficult on an otherwise free and vibrant economy.