I'm British, lived and worked in the US for many years--much of my life, in fact. For the past nine years, I've lived in France.

I do agree with the idea you put forth that people are much the same throughout the world--some are racist, intolerant, kind, generous etc--personal qualities really aren't country specific and generalisation usually misses the mark.

But the US does seem in a rather frightening state at the moment, the divisions so wide it's hard to imagine any sort of coming together.

The extreme right wing leaning is also concerning, the failure to do anything at all about guns, it's hard to fathom from a European perspective.

You offer food for thought though.