Free Walker
What an amazing week. I thought that I would just spend two days at the music festival, but we decided to keep the trip going for a week and went as far south as the Fox Glacier. I'm am refreshed. I got everything I was looking for a more. I'm glad to be back in the comforts of this house that just a week ago I couldn't wait to leave. Back in Nelson there are new faces and new ideas brewing.
I love this country. The adventures I've had here this past week could never have happened in the US because they would have been prohibited for no good reason. I couldn't have built a slept by a campfire on the beach that I built from driftwood I found there. A ranger would have woken me up instead of the glorious sun reflecting from softly breaking waves. I couldn't have provided a ride to two kiwi hitchhikers (illegal in many of our states) who gave me invaluable perspectives on the New Zealand zeitgeist. I couldn't have washed my face in the pool of a 1000' waterfall of glacier melt in solitude because I'd be surrounded by 100 other tourists. I couldn't have hiked off trail around the Glacier because it would be prohibited for my safety. I don't say this to US bash but to tell you how great it is here.
Since I can't show you pretty pictures (they exist in the cameras of my friends), I'll share some words. Government should exist on one simple principle - it is here to grant us freedoms not to take them away. Our government prohibits us ostensibly for our protection (NZ's too, just less so). But in reality, it's not for our protection but for liability reasons. If we hurt ourselves, we can sue the state for not trying to prohibit us. In New Zealand, there's no need to sue (and indeed it's difficult) because health care is provided.
Imagine a country where all laws and boundaries are optional. In 90% of places and circumstances, if we hurt ourselves or fail to provide for ourselves, the government provides for free the services to keep us healthy. In 8% of places or circumstances, such as entering undeveloped wilderness or driving without a seatbelt, the government warns us that it will not provide services for free. But it will send rescue to the wilderness and it will repair our mangled body at our expense. In 2% of cases, such as engaging in a truly dangerous pursuit, it won't even promise to rescue us. It says, do what you will, but you're on your own.
We went off trail at the glaciers and went past signs that said, "Danger! You should only proceed beyond this point with an experienced guide." I'll tell you that I went far beyond that point but never came close to exceeding my personal limits or putting myself in danger. I've spend years exploring nature and know how to test my weight on a rock, check for slipperiness, observe my surroundings and know my limits. The secluded waterfalls and jungle paths I explored with my friends were not suitable for many who have never left the safety of a sidewalk. But there were safe for us. We could have even climbed the glacier itself but we knew the ice is slipper and unstable. But it safe for those with proper equipment and knowledge of the stable patches of ice. Thankfully, New Zealand recognizes that I'm responsible for the risks I take and doesn't prohibit me from taking them.
We ran into an professional guide who chastised us for walking on a well maintained and safe but not idiot-proof path without paying for his services. It was his legal responsibility to warn us, and I'm happy that he did. But his tone of superiority and derision was unnecessary. After warning us he switched on his radio and said, "We've got free walkers on the trail." He didn't mean it as a compliment, but I took it as one. Free Walker. I want that to be my life's job title.
I love this country. The adventures I've had here this past week could never have happened in the US because they would have been prohibited for no good reason. I couldn't have built a slept by a campfire on the beach that I built from driftwood I found there. A ranger would have woken me up instead of the glorious sun reflecting from softly breaking waves. I couldn't have provided a ride to two kiwi hitchhikers (illegal in many of our states) who gave me invaluable perspectives on the New Zealand zeitgeist. I couldn't have washed my face in the pool of a 1000' waterfall of glacier melt in solitude because I'd be surrounded by 100 other tourists. I couldn't have hiked off trail around the Glacier because it would be prohibited for my safety. I don't say this to US bash but to tell you how great it is here.
Since I can't show you pretty pictures (they exist in the cameras of my friends), I'll share some words. Government should exist on one simple principle - it is here to grant us freedoms not to take them away. Our government prohibits us ostensibly for our protection (NZ's too, just less so). But in reality, it's not for our protection but for liability reasons. If we hurt ourselves, we can sue the state for not trying to prohibit us. In New Zealand, there's no need to sue (and indeed it's difficult) because health care is provided.
Imagine a country where all laws and boundaries are optional. In 90% of places and circumstances, if we hurt ourselves or fail to provide for ourselves, the government provides for free the services to keep us healthy. In 8% of places or circumstances, such as entering undeveloped wilderness or driving without a seatbelt, the government warns us that it will not provide services for free. But it will send rescue to the wilderness and it will repair our mangled body at our expense. In 2% of cases, such as engaging in a truly dangerous pursuit, it won't even promise to rescue us. It says, do what you will, but you're on your own.
We went off trail at the glaciers and went past signs that said, "Danger! You should only proceed beyond this point with an experienced guide." I'll tell you that I went far beyond that point but never came close to exceeding my personal limits or putting myself in danger. I've spend years exploring nature and know how to test my weight on a rock, check for slipperiness, observe my surroundings and know my limits. The secluded waterfalls and jungle paths I explored with my friends were not suitable for many who have never left the safety of a sidewalk. But there were safe for us. We could have even climbed the glacier itself but we knew the ice is slipper and unstable. But it safe for those with proper equipment and knowledge of the stable patches of ice. Thankfully, New Zealand recognizes that I'm responsible for the risks I take and doesn't prohibit me from taking them.
We ran into an professional guide who chastised us for walking on a well maintained and safe but not idiot-proof path without paying for his services. It was his legal responsibility to warn us, and I'm happy that he did. But his tone of superiority and derision was unnecessary. After warning us he switched on his radio and said, "We've got free walkers on the trail." He didn't mean it as a compliment, but I took it as one. Free Walker. I want that to be my life's job title.
posted by Mattthew Brauer at 12:03 AM
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