Dodgy football analogy - but very thought-provoking! Your reporting from Germany reminds me of my friend's experience in Japan which I think has a similar collectivist attitude to societal rules (at work, on public transport, living arrangements) versus individual desire.
In America the original idea of “freedom” is neither option described for Germany or Britain. In US the idea was to be free to make your way, to achieve your potential- to strive for the American dream…. Since no man is an island and achieving the dream is exceptionally difficult with government breathing down your neck there are some parts to that which intersect with the two worldviews described here. Thank you. Interesting and helpful discussion.
> Maybe freedom isn’t just about what you’re allowed to do, maybe it’s also about what you’re trusted to uphold.
Except they *aren't* actually *trusted* to uphold anything. They are *ordered* to do so, on penalty of law.
America used to *actually* trust people to uphold order. In later years, the government claimed dominion over those aspects of life, and society has subsequently declined.
There is no thought of common obligations or conservancy. The sheer size of America is in part to blame. Our memories are so short, our grandparents' scars are family traditions. Albert Bierstadt's empty landscapes showed us our Destiny was manifest.
In England, the closing of the commons was prelude to dreams of Utopia.
Dodgy football analogy - but very thought-provoking! Your reporting from Germany reminds me of my friend's experience in Japan which I think has a similar collectivist attitude to societal rules (at work, on public transport, living arrangements) versus individual desire.
In America the original idea of “freedom” is neither option described for Germany or Britain. In US the idea was to be free to make your way, to achieve your potential- to strive for the American dream…. Since no man is an island and achieving the dream is exceptionally difficult with government breathing down your neck there are some parts to that which intersect with the two worldviews described here. Thank you. Interesting and helpful discussion.
> Maybe freedom isn’t just about what you’re allowed to do, maybe it’s also about what you’re trusted to uphold.
Except they *aren't* actually *trusted* to uphold anything. They are *ordered* to do so, on penalty of law.
America used to *actually* trust people to uphold order. In later years, the government claimed dominion over those aspects of life, and society has subsequently declined.
I could only think of the Bundy family's 2014 weeklong standoff with Federal BLM Agents.
https://www.eenews.net/articles/a-decade-after-bunkerville-standoff-bundy-cattle-roam-free/
There is no thought of common obligations or conservancy. The sheer size of America is in part to blame. Our memories are so short, our grandparents' scars are family traditions. Albert Bierstadt's empty landscapes showed us our Destiny was manifest.
In England, the closing of the commons was prelude to dreams of Utopia.