A friend who recently went on a river cruise through Europe was telling me about her trip. She talked about how clean Amsterdam was – with no air pollution, many bicycle riders and walkers, and groups of ordinary people who picked up litter from the streets and canals to keep them clean. She talked about healthcare in Germany and Italy, where a trip to the ER cost less than $50 and a prescription is a few dollars. She explained how everyone uses mass transit because is is fast, safe, convenient and inexpensive. She talked about places that had reduced their oil usage to less than 35% by converting to wind and solar power. She told me about fresh, non-GMO locally sourced food being available everywhere.
She said that in the countries she visited, people paid higher taxes, but said they didn’t mind because their government made sure they had homes, food, elder care, education, medical care, childcare, safety and security.
She said people didn’t spend much time arguing about politics or elections – they used their time to take care of themselves, their communities and each other.
What was most striking about what she told me was the sense of peace she felt – even in the heart of busy urban cities. When she got back home, she described how the feeling of tension and anger was palpable.
She ended by saying, “It doesn’t have to be this way. There is a better way to live. People in the US think these things are impossible, but other countries are already doing it! We could too.”
I’ve thought a lot about our conversation since then. In the US, we are sold a story that “Freedom” is the most important principle.
- We have freedom to own guns, conceal carry in half the US states and shoot people if we feel threatened (see “stand your ground laws and cases).
- We are free to say almost anything we want – even if it denigrates someone, causes material harms, incites violence, encourages suicide, or inflames arguments.
- We have freedom to buy the “best medical care in the world” at the highest prices, as long as we’re wealthy enough to afford it. And, of course, we have the freedom to be driven into bankruptcy and poverty if we cannot.
- We have freedom to take on mortgage level debt for education at the age of 18 – debt that cannot be discharged through bankruptcy – in the hopes that this will enable us to have a good career.
- We have freedom to drive gas guzzling cars everywhere, instead of relying on mass transit that is sporadic, inconvenient and costly.
- We have freedom to throw up our hands and say “nothing can be done but offer thoughts and prayers” after schoolchildren, shoppers or church goers are killed in a mass shooting.
- We have freedom for corporations and lobbyists to funnel unlimited money to political parties and candidates so that they can control the government, the laws and society.
There is a better way.
I think many of us would choose to give up some of these freedoms for something better.
It’s too bad, that for most of us, we will never have that choice.