The land of the "free"?

I haven't completely developed my thoughts on this, but I think its definitely an issue worth thinking about.

I think that it is ironic that while the U.S. is considered "free," Chinese people have different kinds of freedoms that we in the U.S. do not really have. In many ways, because some freedoms in America restrict other freedoms, there are certain aspects in which Chinese people are more free. I think this is partly because American freedoms are mostly based on personal and individual freedoms, but community freedoms are considered less important and thus ignored and more restricted in the name of individual freedom. In any place, with one freedom comes the restriction of another. There are so many regulations that aim to protect businesses and people, but restrict the community as a whole. Whether you agree with these freedoms or not, a couple of examples I can think of off the top of my head is: little kids peeing in the grass because they can't wait to find a bathroom, bringing your own bottle of wine into a restaurant, walking into a room of acupuncture patients in the hospital. While this certainly signals a difference in culture and possibly partly the difference between a developed and still developing country, I think both Chinese and American people don't really realize what freedoms they lack since they don't have them and people that did have them aren't around anymore.

While China has its fair share of regulations, they are mostly based on government security and political issues, while the U.S. regulations are mostly affected by the freedoms we have in law. However, as far as I have noticed, there are many more annoying small rules and regulations in the U.S. One example I thought of which illustrates while at the airport in both Hungary and China this summer. When I was little, kids were still allowed to play on the luggage delivery belt. Now, in the U.S., we aren't. This rule was probably created because one child pinched their fingers and while I'm sure some people in the company made this regulation out of genuine concern for kids, it was definitely also made so they don't get sued or get in trouble. With the freedom to sue and demand retribution (even though in this case, parents should be taking responsibility) comes the restriction of other small freedoms that can sometimes enrich a person's life - this next example illustrates this.

In China, there are parks with pingpong tables bolted down and work out machinery intended for elderly people use. Starting at about 5:00 am, this park is full of elderly people working out, playing pingpong and badminton, socializing, etc. This park has probably helped many of them prolong their lifespans by establishing a daily routine of being active. Why don't we have this in the U.S.? Besides the obvious fact that most parks (save for the occasional simple pullup benches) are 1) geared towards children and 2) someone would probably steal or vandalize the equipment, 3) some child or person would somehow injure themselves and instead of taking responsibility, sue the parks and recreation. I would like to address these below.

1) Chinese culture puts emphasis on obeying elders and by providing the elderly with a place to socialize and stay healthy, the less the rest of the community needs to take care of their elderly. 2) China does not have the same gang culture that the U.S. has and it is definitely evident by the lack of vandalism and graffiti. I really haven't seen much at all. I think another reason is that guns are forbidden in China (except for certain police and army). In the U.S., with the freedom of arms comes the restriction of innocent people's right to life. It is exactly this reason that I feel much safer on the streets in Beijing. Finally, I think that family values come into play. If someone thinks about vandalizing the pingpong table or exercise equipment, they think twice because they know their grandma probably uses it every morning. In the same respect, they probably play pingpong or hang out at the park too.
3) The emphasis on community from Chinese culture and Communist influence is also obvious. The mindset is that we as a community need to cooperate. Don't lose face by getting in a dispute. With our freedom to sue people and engage the law, we lose a little bit more of that carefree life. While I definitely agree with our freedom to correct wrongs, some people just like whining in order to get ahead in life. I don't know if I would call it dishonesty, but there are ridiculous trials in which people are just simply suing for the money and not really to correct a wrongdoing, and in many cases, not taking responsibility for a very simple problem that could have been resolved easily (i.e. because I burned my finger on my hot coffee, it's McDonald's fault). Ridiculous.

My vision of elderly equipment in the U.S: A child plays on the equipment, not using it properly because his parents never taught him how to properly use it and are now not paying attention because they are talking on their cell phones. The child somehow gets his finger stuck and starts screaming. His parents rush over and take their child to the doctor, finding that his finger is broken. His parents then sue the parks and recs for not having child proof hinges or something on it and the result? The equipment is removed. How many times have I seen something like this happen from when I was a kid compared to now? Countless times. Likewise, my parents childhood was definitely less restricted by the law then when I was a kid than kids now because Americans have become obsessed with safety, entitlement, and the need to regulate everything.

The saying "with great power comes great responsibility" applies to every person too. In the U.S., the individual has an increasingly great amount of individual power in the form of individual rights, but I don't think we are taking an increasing amount of responsibility. Instead we sometimes take every opportunity to abuse these rights, limiting our freedoms, encroaching on others' rights, and limiting opportunities as both an individual and a community. In China it is opposite; individual rights are more restricted, but the unrestricted carefree nature of the people as a whole are what, for example, allow us to learn from each other, make the parks more lively, and enrich the welfare of the community.