> Its very important for someone with socially conservative views, which is most Americans depending where we move the overton window, to make sure to pretend that all people are as awful as them morally.

Take a step back and read how fucked up your projection is here. Most Americans, let alone socially conservative ones, are not just avoiding stealing because they would get caught.

> I was in Tokyo briefly and its very, very different than being in NYC or Chicago.

NYC and Chicago are about as far as you can get from “socially conservative”, so it’s not clear what your narrative actually is here.