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freedom and soup, really
I've come across a few blogs (written by people from the US) which uncritically champion the US as the freest of the free countries in the free world and say that the rest of the world is just jealous that they have so much freedom (the US that is), they can export it everywhere. Now I'm not sure what the real measure of freedom is, but just to satisfy my curiosity, can I ask anyone who has lived in the US and another country, which one they felt the most free(dom) in and why?
Anyway, back to the really mundane. Mr McMuffin made soup tonight and it was the best soup in the world I don't say that lightly as I come from a family of soup lovers (although we call it cawl) and am a pretty good soup maker myself. I don't know what he did to make it so good. The ingredients looked fine, although not terribly exciting, but given the McMuffin magic they combined to make the best soup in the world. So good I had to say it again.
...and again and again for anyone viewing this on RSS.
mrs mcmuffin on 31 May 2005 @ 09:35 PM ✲ Permalink
Comments
i have lived in the US (NYC) for most of my life. I have spent time abroad as well. Being american -- i think i may take my liberties for granted -- but then again how can you gage freedom? Is it the amount of authority that presides over the society. If that is the case then -- to answer your question, i think greece is the place i have felt most the freedom. there seems to be no authority in that country what so ever. One big happy chaotic free for all.
Posted by: chester | 31 May 2005 21:50:16
But cawl's not "just" soup, Mrs McMuffin, it's a complete 2-course meal in itself.
Oh dear - the thought of a nice helping is almost enough to tempt me back to carniverous living ...
Posted by: Em | 31 May 2005 23:08:44
This will probably be too long and I'm not sure how clear it will be... but here goes:
A lot of people in the US don't really know what freedom is, but they know they have a lot of it. Or so they think.
For most "law-abiding middle class types," there's probably not a lot in it on a day to day basis between the US and the UK.
I think that the way in which the US is freer than other places -- or at least the UK -- is in systemic protection against the state. The Constitution and Bill of Rights provide a significant means for the people to keep the state at bay. It doesn't always work -- e.g. Korematsu vs US, which legitimized the internment of Japanese-Americans in WWII and is still cited as good case law... or the Patriot Act passed in the aftermath of 9/11.
But contrast that with the Defense of the Realm Act in the 70s and 80s, or other anti-terror laws, or (ludicrous) ASBOs, or even GATSOs. Only 4 states and Washington Dc have speed cameras; my wife's uncle is a Deputy Attorney General for the state of New Jersey and he actively works to prevent the state from using speed cameras on the grounds that they are unconstitutional... you wouldn't get that in the UK.
That said, there are other ways in which the mechanics of freedom work better elsewhere. British parliamentary elections may not be that satisyfing for UK voters, but by contrast to Congressional elections they are a miracle of direct interaction with citizens by people who can complete sentences (in marginals, if nowhere else), and are much less obviously bought by wealthy interests. And the anti-democratic nature of the "elected tyrrany" of Parliament doesn't seem much worse than having, in the US Senate, the same weight put on the views of senators from a reactionary state like Missouri (population 5.6 million, GDP equivalent $18 billion) count the same as California (population 33.8 million, GDP equivalent $1.23 trillion). (And US based readers can spare me the review of the articles of confederation and the constitutional convention, there's no need to protect slavery anymore).
Also, the US emphasis on restraint on the state also brings lack of interest in state benefits, so you are free to die in the gutter for lack of access to healthcare... that seems sad in a country so wealthy, I've never quite reconciled myself to it. And the general lack of interest in protecting workers from the worst excesses of management could be described as a lack of freedom from want.
On a non-political basis, I find US social conformism to somewhat less stifling than UK conformism. Social mobility may be a sustaining myth in the US, but at least it means there's a place for the self-made man or woman that doesn't come with a constant reminder to not get too big for one's boots.
Anyway, the depressing thing about the current administration and Congress is that they will, left unopposed, seriously diminish the rights of Americans to stand against the state. And sadly, a lot of people either want that, or are too frightened to say anything. The Terri Schiavo debacle, in the context of American law, was a clear indication of the extent to which the far right in the US are willing to meddle in people's lives and the backlash against it was some ray of hope.
I suppose maybe another way to put it, is US = more means of ensuring freedom from the state, but with a high level of political conformism, whereas UK = less inherent defense against the state and high social conformism, but more political variety...
So that's my $0.02 (or about UKP 0.01 at current exchange rates) about the relative merits of freedom in the US vs UK.
Posted by: Colin | 1 Jun 2005 02:52:45
Chester and Colin, thank you both very much for your thoughtful replies. Colin, you have summarised what I have been trying to understand in a few paragraphs, I am very impressed.
Em2, of course you are right, but we always got things a bit tipsy in my house and had the solids first and the soup another day. Mum was even so innovative as to make it with chicken! Blasphemy! Of course I hated it as a child, but I salivate just thinking about it now.
Posted by: mrs mcmuffin | 1 Jun 2005 08:27:43
Glad you found it interesting -- it gave me something to think about on the drive home, which is always welcome!
Posted by: Colin | 1 Jun 2005 20:55:45
So what was in the soup?
Posted by: Steve | 2 Jun 2005 00:33:33
Only a week ago, Mr M was fretting over his future employment.
If we'd have known he was so good at making soup, we could have encouraged him to open a "brothel"
Posted by: Keith Povall | 2 Jun 2005 07:29:50
Seems to me that "freedom" means something different to so many people. To the current US administration it means "free to cull the largest amount of profit without sharing any with anyone."
I suppose it depends on what it is you want to do in the first place. When I lived in Denmark, I was free to go to a doctor, any time. And free from the worry that I would lose my job and starve to death.
Posted by: Jo | 5 Jun 2005 00:58:24
