Those who cry the loudest for freedom and liberty

When we were in Bali we learned to navigate roads on scooters. Balinese are raised on scooters. There is an unwritten code to scooter riding which makes the seeming chaos incredibly safe.

It starts with respect. Add awareness of others and the surroundings. Put this into a container of enough time. There is no fight for space, for going first, or for winning.

Some surf breaks are like Bali.

Others, like the ones we experienced this weekend, are full of rude people who have one agenda. To have their best experience at the cost of everyone else’s.

As we have learned with cars and roads, rules are designed to create order in the chaos. Some communities need rules because the rule breakers who do not care about others need a constraint. There is no respect. Just self-indulgence and entitlement. Rights without responsibilities.

As the surf becomes increasingly busier, it will edge towards rules. Accidents will become so common that those who get away with ignoring everyone in their way will be the cause of regulations they hate. They will blame others. Blame the system. Yell and scream about regulations and liberty. Never looking at the truth. They generated the conditions that created the rules to protect.

This story is repeated in every domain of humanity. Insurance claims. Speed limits. Noise levels.

Selfishness will eventually create less freedom for everyone, including the selfish.

Yet those who cry the loudest for freedom and liberty are often the ones who refuse to take responsibility for their actions on others. They refuse to accept that rights and responsibility are complementary, not opposite.

Photo Taken March 5th 2023