Re: A quiet rant about unions
"Sometimes listening to both Americans and Brits you get this feeling that they genuinely believe half, not my half, but that other half, have plans to destroy the whole country."
While I agree with pretty much everything you say, I feel the quoted point above is changing. The US seems to be growing more and more politically polarised while the UK, a generation or two after the demise of the big unions and the big industries, seems to be mellowing a little.
eg, I'm in a area which until relatively recently, would have voted a stuffed dog in so long as it had a red Labour Party badge. The "workers" were staunchly Labour, no matter what. Their kids grew up indoctrinated the same way. The grandkids, however, seem to be voting more along the lines of what's best for them. My local MP is still Labour, but margins are much reduced.