@WarnerCrocker That may be but we've held ourselves up as a shining example of "democracy" and "freedom". In practice we have set the opposite example of least participation. It's a cultural trait of the US.
I see the citizens of other many other countries protesting in a far more robust and prolonged manner, providing a much better example of active, engaged citizenship. And as a result the governments of many of those countries seem to be far more responsive to those citizens.