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On America as the liability state

By Corey Breier On December 4,
2013 · Leave a
Comment

Photo: slimmer_jimmer

As an American citizen, I’m
used to signing my life away on the dotted line. It’s an unavoidable hurdle
required before anything truly fun. Imagine my surprise when, after nine months
of crisscrossing Europe, I realized I had signed less than three liability
releases, and all of them within the United Kingdom.

My guide for the Camino del Rey in Malaga, known as “the most dangerous
walkway in the world,” led me to the trailhead with nothing more than a smile. I
signed nothing official in order to rent my Barcelona apartment with locals for
4 months — I simply paid the most responsible flatmate each month, who then took
care of the rent. Even in Germany, famous for its national love of rules and
organization, I clambered into the ersatz labyrinth of Zur
Wilden Renate with nothing more than a word of caution to guide me. The
experience within was reminiscent of the Tactile Dome in San Francisco’s
Exploratorium, for which I vividly remember being required to sign a second
waiver in order to enter.

I know there remain many, many places on the Continent where I would be
required to sign things, and given that I was a solo Couchsurfer looking to
avoid expensive tours, my experience was not universal. Yet the fact remains
that the US is far more concerned with liability and legal repercussions than
any other free country I have heard of (perhaps Singapore, with its $200 fine
for spitting in public, can compare).

We live in a society of litigators, where you can sue anybody out of house
and home for the smallest of reasons, if you pay the right lawyer. We’ve all
heard the stories about burglars suing homeowners after tripping over their
couch, or the woman who successfully sued McDonalds after spilling scalding
coffee on herself, etc.
etc. You have her to thank for the seemingly redundant “Caution — hot
beverage!” warning plastered over your morning cappuccino. No matter how
frivolous the suit may seem, if the jury rules in the plaintiff’s favor, money
must change hands.

America wants you to stay home all day and watch
television, because there’s little chance of you finding legal ground to blame
that slothful personal decision on someone else.

This leads to a society where everyone is so worried about protecting their
asses that they ‘liabilitize’ everything that could possibly be ruled as their
responsibility, no matter how tenuously. For example, my university hosts a
massive music festival once every year with famous artists and vendors. The
event is incredibly popular, and serves as possibly our strongest example of
school spirit, given our lack of a football team. Since this is an American
college, all the students also take this day to drink large amounts of alcohol,
which led to several hospitalizations last year. The administration is
responding by seriously threatening to shut down the entire festival, despite it
being a proud school tradition for over two decades.

What kind of legality is this where the hosts of an event are responsible for
the personal decisions of the attendees? Drinking yourself unconscious is a
decision only you can make — putting the onus on another is nothing more than
wishful, retroactive thinking made once things turn out poorly. It’s the same
ludicrous argument that fasting protestors make — their decision to not eat food
is contingent on some corporation agreeing to stop building a dam or whatever.
But your decision to starve yourself is exactly that — your own decision.
Legally, no entity is required to submit to your demands simply because you put
yourself in danger, no matter how loudly you claim it’s their fault. Why doesn’t
that principle hold over to nominal, everyday risks?

America wants you to stay home all day and watch television, because there’s
little chance of you finding legal ground to blame that slothful personal
decision on someone else. Meanwhile, the entire world waits outside your
doorstep, intrinsically full of risk, uncertainty, and danger. That’s not a bad
thing, despite what your insurance agent may tell you.

The things that make life worth living all have some risk involved, whether
it’s quitting your job to pursue your passion, taking the road less traveled, or
going in for the kiss. These things are exciting precisely because there’s an
element of uncertainty and danger involved. They get your heart pumping, sharpen
your senses, and shape what kind of person you become. As a traveler, surely
you’ve learned that everything worthwhile happens outside of your comfort zone,
and if there’s one word that lives squarely outside of comfort, it’s risk. Isn’t
it when you feel the thrill of fear shoot up your spine that you feel most
alive?

I experienced firsthand how much fun a lack of regulations can bring in
Spain. I found an encierro (bull run) through online research and
trained out into the suburbs of Madrid in hot pursuit the very next morning. I
walked up to the stadium, bought a ticket with cash (no waiver required), and
entered the arena to find dozens of local youths running circles around a large
angry bovine, to the raucous cheers of hundreds of spectators. It took me
several minutes to realize none of this was staged — somebody had brought the
bull, but the rest of the spectacle was paying attendees entering the ring of
their own volition and trying their luck.

Needless to say it didn’t take me long to do the same, and it remains one of
the most rewarding experiences from my time abroad. Partly because it was
something that never could have happened in the States, where a bull run would
likely feature dozens of security guards stationed around the stage to keep
people from interfering with the ‘trained professionals.’

Chill out, America — you’re not paying for my health insurance anyway, so
what do you care which dangers I place myself in?

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About The Author

Corey Breier

Corey Breier is an avid explorer of both the wilderness and the web. His
heart remains in the SF Bay Area of his youth, although his current home base is
Barcelona. Read his current exploits at spainwhatup.tumblr.com.

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