I do not know if the people of the United States would vote for superior men if they ran for office, but there can be no doubt that such men do not r… - Alexis de Tocqueville

from Democracy in America (1835)
It is odd to watch with what feverish ardor the Americans pursue prosperity and how they are ever tormented by the shadowy suspicion that they may not have chosen the shortest route to get it. Americans cleave to the things of this world as if assured that they will never die, and yet are in such a rush to snatch any that come within their reach, as if expecting to stop living before they have relished them. They clutch everything but hold nothing fast, and so lose their grip as they hurry after some new delight.

men who so uneasily tolerate superiors patiently suffer a master, and show themselves proud and servile at the same time.

I know of no country in which there is so little independence of mind and real freedom of discussion as in America.