Alienable Rights?

2:30 PM Edit This 3 Comments »
The surgeon I work for just got back from doing surgeries and teaching in India and Pakistan. We've been looking at pictures and video footage all day. Whereas the rules and regulations that hospitals have to jump over and through to get accredited here are massive, we certainly are privy to incredible opportunities, innovations, and skilled physicians.

And the living conditions? Wow. He "interviewed" a whole group of people called "Bamboo Spliters" who just live on the side of the road (in the city) and make tourist items out of bamboo. They literally just set up camp right there - where we might have a hot dog vendor downtown? They live there. Have their babies there. Cook there. I said, "So they can just camp out wherever they want to and no one does anything?" And the good doctor said, "Of course, it's a free country." It's India. It's not a free country.

Apparently there are some "rights" that we don't even think about. If I keep my tent up in my back yard too long, the neighbors complain and I have to take it down. In India? I can live in my tent in someone elses' front yard and no one can make me leave.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

My step daughter is in a world geography class this year. She likes it because the teacher has opened her eyes to some things like the state of things in India and around the world.

People can say what they think, but this is the best place in the world. Except Switzerland. They kind of rock there.

~Jef

Meigan said...

One of my friends trains in India every few years. She always used to write about the elephants holding up traffic. We're so boring here. I wish an elephant would hold up traffic for me sometime.

GreenCanary said...

If I could pitch a tent in anyone's yard and not get arrested for it, I think I might have to stalk - *ahem!* - camp at Johnny Depp's house. Except that, you know... he lives in France, and maybe the free-tenting law isn't in effect there.