Being American
I’m an American. I mean that in the best of ways, but as an American, I am subject to some of our follies. I only speak one language and I shop online. I’m not much for walking; I prefer a car to public transit. I don’t know how to convert miles into kilometers. I love huge supermarkets like Whole Foods Market. I dream of living in a bigger house with more space for all my hobbies and interests.
I’m an American. I’m neither blue or red, but purple – almost literally since half my wardrobe and possessions are purple. I believe in the right to choice – whether that’s the choice to drink raw milk, to ride without a seatbelt, to have an abortion, to build an idiosyncratic home, or to own a gun. I believe in the freedom of choice so long as it only impacts your personal, individual risks.
I’m an American. I believe in freedom of speech and freedom of action in the pursuit of personal happiness – so long as that pursuit does not impede the happiness of others. I believe a human body is an individual temple that should never be forced to ingest or otherwise consume something unwanted. A human should never be forced to attend a school or workplace that feels unsafe. When a human – of any background or appearance – voices their experiences these should be validated and heeded by allowing that person to change location or vocation as needed.
I’m an American. I believe that people of all kinds can grow into any career or social class they wish to attain. Whether it be through marriage, a degree, hard work, apprenticeship, self-study, several of the above or other means, people should rise and grow into the place in the world most congenial to their individual strengths and preferences.
I’m an American. I believe in business in the traditional sense: an operation of mutual benefit to providers and consumers. A business of mutual benefit must look after its own health (profit), its employees and consumers (people), and its environment (planet); care-taking the ecosystem is merely an extension of care-taking its own long-term best interests. Taking care not to pollute, to clean up after oneself, to be kind and honest, and providing a sustainable service is an extension of southern manners as well as northern values.
I’m an American. I may not want to ride a bike, but I believe cities should be designed so that others may. I may prefer home-schooling and self-study for myself or my own family, but I believe that education should be free for all. I may prefer a single-family home, but I believe our building codes should never prohibit the construction of mixed-use buildings, duplexes, or other types of dynamic structures.
If this is the land of the free, then it is the land of making your own choices – so long as those choices do not take away the choices of others. — Raederle Phoenix 2022