I've visited the US many times. You've little to fear as a visitor. There are a great many reasons to visit the USA.
With that being said, I haven't been back since the Snowden news broke and everything else that has followed. I'm not American, I can't vote there, I can't effect influence there, so my only way to protest the national and international actions of the USA is to not bring my tourist dollars there anymore.
Which is a shame because I've spent a lot of money on personal trips there, have enjoyed my times there, have met some really great people there, etc. but as it's my only form of protest that I can engage in, it's what I feel I have to do.
It's the people that makes me afraid. Criminals I can deal with. Crime I can deal with. I think the American people are amazing. It's the police and government that I fear. I guess if I visit I would have to be careful in choosing what state I go to.
That being said, I'm from Canada and if Harper has his way, I won't have to worry about the lack of freedom and the excess of police power in the USA since it will be the same at home anyway.
You are much more likely to have an accident with a moose in Canada than be shot by our Police or targeted by our Government.[1]
In the past 10 years I have had exactly two encounters with the police in a negative fashion. One for going over the speed limit and once for an illegal turn. Most of them can be jerks but they are not out to get anyone.
Where I live I have little fear of a carjacking. My biggest "concern" with American society is with the media and how manipulative it is. They are constantly sounding the drums of fear, and taking fairly trivial incidents and asking "what if this had been 1,000% worse?"
From this week, some dude landed on the grass outside of the capital building in a gyrocopter. Fine, it was a "security incident" and he knew he was protesting and bound to get arrested. That isn't my issue, my issue was with how the media reported it, saying things like "what if he had a bomb?" "what if he was a terrorist?" "If he had just turned a little bit to the left he could have been at the Whitehouse!" and so on.
They're even worse with child issues. Last week the local station did a 15 minute long report about someone seen talking to kids though his car window. Just talking, didn't steal one, and they had no evidence that he would, but it was a 15 minute story about "kidnappings" and "how to keep your child safe" and "what to teach them."
No wonder parents think society is getting more and more dangerous when factually it is becoming safer. Children are safer now than at any point in human history, but turn on your TV and you'd think there was a "predator" or "terrorist" around every corner.
Seriously, America scares me and I would never visit it. It's a shame, really, the place looks amazing. I hope it will get fixed up in my lifetime...