Not OP, but I enjoy and value having personal space when I travel. Being able to reliably sit down is also nice.
It's amusing to see that your immediate reaction to someone else having different values is to accuse them of having a mental illness, and then trying to force your personal preferences onto them.
I think this is a social trust thing - lots of people are just scared of strangers. This is particularly true for high-violence/high-tension societies like the US.
My city (in Australia) is very peaceful and I don't feel bothered or frightened at all by the general public - in fact I like being able to people-watch, feel a certain sense of vibrancy, etc.
Good luck winning people to your side with that.
Are you saying you'd use a car for non-work trips even when the train would be more convenient?