1) I don't think anyone else than Ryanair does that. I do agree they suck though.
2) It is an American issue. Have you been on any airline from Europe, Middle East or Asia? If you generalise the offerings and compare the level of service then you will find that American airlines offers much lower service. Most European airlines are quite good, and most big carriers from Asia and Middle East are much better.
I really don't think this is a Europe-vs-America issue.