Some people are very sensitive to criticism of this country. But it doesn't elicit as much opposition as other topics like religion or Sarah Palin.
To reach "sacred cow" status, it must be a subject that no matter how clearly argued the position, it still elicits the dreaded "disagree" followed by ranting in the threads. Politics and religion are the two big spots for this and I suspect that's why a lot of people shy away from commenting in these areas.
After 9/11, criticism of American foreign policy and our tactics in the war against terrorist would yield relatively high opposition. For a time, it wasn't popular to be against the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. That's changed somewhat over the past few years. Probably its because the focus has shifted away from national security and towards the economy and other domestic concerns. Another factor to consider is the high unpopularity of the wars. That makes it easier to be critical.
This is a great country, but it has a lot of flaws--many of its policies are ill considered and painfully short-sighted. I criticize not because I hate America or any such thing. As opposed, I'm greatly concerned about the country's direction and seek to bring some clarity to the situation (even if I can't really impact the situation here from my perch on RIA!!)
