(no subject)

[desperance]

grrm has a post about freedom (with specific reference to the US, but general principles apply all over) and you can read it here. I think you should.

Thing is, though, in the middle there he has a paragraph that reads:

"I want the right to do stupid, hazardous, self-destructive stuff as well; to drink absinthe, smoke pot, smoke tobacco, drive my car without the seatbelt, bungee jump off bridges, watch porn, order my eggs sunny-side up and my hamburgers rare, have unprotected sex, drink unpasteurized milk. I have only done a few of those things, actually (I will leave it to you to figure out which ones), and most I would never consider -- but I SHOULD have the right to do all of them."

And while I entirely applaud the sentiment, I have troubles with the list, because it all seems so innocuous. Most of those he would never consider? George, there's only one item on that list I haven't done, and I'm far from the most adventurous or outlandish of men. I'm not bragging about my raffishness here, far from it - just wondering if there's a different mindset across the sea there, if Americans are perhaps inherently more cautious, even without the impositions of their government?

Comments

[devonellington.livejournal.com]

I think that different factors mean different degrees of "risk".

I've met people who are afraid of "New York City", which, to me, seems ridiculous. It's a place with sidewalks and people who tend to be much nicer than the rude tourists who invade it. But it doesn't suffer fools.

On the other hand, I am afraid of rattlesnakes, which people who live with them every day think is silly.

I think that if an adult decides to do a stupid thing and it kills him, his tough luck. I don't think the government should regulate certain personal choices.

However, if that personal choice (such as driving drunk) hurts someone else who wasn't given a choice in the equation, I think that's when and where authorities need to step in.

I think there's far too much a sense of entitlement over here "I want it, therefore I have the right to take it from someone else who isn't worth as much as I am" combined with an odd sort of Puritan prudery.

Again, it depends where you live in the country.

New York is an unforgiving city filled with predators. If you do something stupid, chances are pretty darn good you'll pay with your life. If you even stop paying attention, you can suffer serious consequences. You have to reamin alert and aware all the time.

That being said, the general person on the street here tends to go out of his or her way for strangers much more than in other cities in which I've lived. It's a contradictory place.

I think often Americans tend to see things in terms of themselves, short term consequences, and what they want rather than in terms of a larger context. There's much less political awareness here than in other countries. Ask twenty people what bill is awaiting a vote in Congress and MAYBE one person will have an idea. When I've travelled in other countries, the bills on the floor in that country are regularly debated in daily conversation.

Many people here CHOOSE to remain ignorant, and the ones who actually give a damn burn out from the burden of carrying the rest who can't be bothered.