Freedom is Watching Your Step
I'm sitting inside a Starbucks at the airport in Mexico City, reflecting on my two weeks in Mexico, and on the growth of Anarchapulco.
And I'm reflecting on freedom.
Some anarchists say that countries like Mexico are freer than countries like the United States, and some say the opposite is true. I think it's more complicated than that. Mexico is freer in some ways because its government is weak and ineffective. But the United States is freer in some ways because most of us only have to deal with one to three thieving aggressors posing as an authority--the federal, state, and local governments depending upon where we live. But in Mexico they have an extra one: the cartel.
Sure, Mexicans can sell fruit or tacos on the street without a license or inspections, but try opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant without paying your extortion fees to the cartel (which is in addition to your taxes, by the way.) You can't. Many Mexican stores and restaurants attempt to stay incognito, skipping signage and operating on word of mouth advertisement only.
And then there are the little freedoms that can feel like inconveniences to Americans spoiled by the perceived benefits of the nanny state.
Take a walk around a Mexican neighborhood. Music blares from speakers on a rooftop, and there are no noise ordinances to call the cops about. Cats and dogs wander the streets, with and without collars. They all seem to know how not to get hit by cars, and they wait patiently outside of the convenience stores for someone to bring them a bite to eat. There are no zoning laws. A pizza place operates out of someone's garage and next door is an apartment building; next to that a private elementary school; across the street a late night bar.
The building on the corner is under reconstruction, and there are piles of lumber scattered across the sidewalk, peppered with bent nails. You have to hopscotch over it all. The pavement is uneven. Each property owner is responsible for the sidewalk in front of their building, so the ground varies--flat and then sloped, now cement, now broken asphalt, now brick, now dirt. You have to watch your step, and that in itself is a sort of freedom: the freedom to be responsible for yourself while acknowledging the freedom of others to do as they will with their own property.
No country on earth is truly free, because every country on earth has a state.
It is almost useless to compare them in terms of which is "more free" and which is "less free". You get extremes on the polar ends, like Hong Kong versus North Korea, but in the middle is just a big mush of "more or less". Free in x area, unfree in y.
By visiting different countries, you get to experience new kinds of freedom, or to experience freedom in different ways than you had at home. And perhaps you notice the local tyrannies--great and small--more sharply than a citizen would, by virtue of your foreigner eyes.
You notice, maybe for the first time, that freedom means watching your step.
Here are some of my recent posts you might like:
The Real Reason Why School Shootings Happen
A Day in Paradise, er, I Mean, DANGEROUS MEXICO
Impressions After Anarchapulco
Hi, I'm Starr!
I believe all human interactions should be consensual.
What a great post to read. Thank you for posting. You do a great job examining the idea of freedom. Are we ever really free? and if so, what is the cost for that freedom. I lived in America most of my life and then moved around and now live in Asia. When I go back home it feels really restrictive and in some ways it is but in others there are actually more freedoms now than ever. I think it has to do with what you find important. But ther is a concern because we are in dire need of balancing our freedoms with the fact that we have to co-exist in order for us to thrive. We are seeing this challenge play out all over the world and rub up against the status quo and the enshrined power structures. In the end it has to be us the people who make the demands instead of the elite or current dominant forces. What do you think ?
I think the state should be dispensed with and individuals should handle their own business. Being free requires you to treat others with respect--if you want to be able to make a living and move through your community without being shunned. Freedom self-regulates, is what I mean. All human interactions should be consensual, and other than that we can mind our own business.
This debate has raged since the beginning of people congregating. The challenge is the state supplies services that the weaker of us cannot get on their own. If left up to individuals there would be people dying on the street (especially in today's world). So how do we insure that people who cannot fend for themselves do not get pushed aside?
Interesting objection to statelessness. In my view, we already have people dying in the streets with government in control, and often because of government. (For instance, homeless people in many "developed" nations are not allowed to live in affordable housing alternatives like sheds, RVs, campers, makeshift shanties, etc. And so if the homeless shelter happens to be full on snowy night with subzero temps, they freeze to death.)
I honestly don't think that the state does a better job of providing for the weakest members of society than the market could do.
thanks for your comments. Homelessness is a local issue not a federal one. Some places around the US do allow people to stay inside during the cold weather but the big cities not so much. The market only looks for profit and efficiency and helping those less fortunate is not really a financially profitable situation in the traditional sense. I always say that we need more compassion or no matter the political system we will only replace one tyrant for another even if that new tyrant is us. Thanks
I agree that travel reveals to you the different types of freedom different nations enjoy and the different types of tyrannies they confront. I don't agree that there is little value in saying which countries are more and less free. I just think you have to pick barometers, and you do a good job of that in this post. One point of curiosity: have you interviewed Mexican vendors about cartel extortion? I am interesting in finding out how prevalent it is.
I haven't interviewed any directly, but I have made some observations and heard a few stories on my three visits to Acapulco that lead me to believe cartel extortion is prevalent.
I agree, freedom is experienced in many different ways in different countries, so it really is hard to judge. Some think having money brings with a certain level of freedom, which in a sense it does, but with money alot of people are really tied up in the system, their money is tied up in the system. So maybe the person with hardly no money surviving day to day has more freedom, but I doubt that all who live like that would agree. Freedom means different things to different people, for me I want the freedom to raise my children how I see fit, I certainly don't want any authority interfering. For others, freedom is being able to move from one country to another without been persecuted or abused. Freedom is such a huge topic.
Hmm. I like the way you introduced money into the equation. I guess in my view there's a certain level of wealth that equals freedom. It could be a different amount depending on where you live or what your goals are. But the issue of being tied up by money usually only happens because people make choices that don't agree with their goals, like buying a huge house when they really want to travel. For those who have made better choices, I think money buys freedom.
A tough choice! But I think I would prefer having to deal with the cartel! At least they don't pretend to be all goody two shoes!
Our Governments be all like, "if you don't let us rob you then we'll send you to prison and then rob you" "and then make money from selling your kids! Then when they grow up, we'll do the same again!" and they say all that with smiles on their faces whilst feeding us with the illusion of democracy, Whatever that means!
It sounds like in Mexico that as long as you keep out of the Cartels way and look where your walking, you'll be alright!
Thanks again for another masterpiece @lesliestarrohara!
Really loved this one: smart, perceptive, and well-informed.
Freedom really is about compromises, isn't it? And I think you've hit on why you cant build a community on one, all-encompassing, overriding, single-word value.
Thanks, @winstonalden! This is one of my favorites that I've written as of late.
You probably can--that's what intentional communities are all about. But they succeed or fail based on the level of commitment of individual members to the common value.
This is on point. It seems that there will always be groups of thugs wanting to be in control and have power. They just have different names (cartel, government, mafia) and do it in different ways.
the more I talk to people in countries other than America the more free I feel.
The more I understand about tyrannie, the more freedom I want.if you truly want freedom,i believe you can have it.
hai master please help my upvote ,, nice to meet you ,, good post