I like North America. I particularly like being English in North America but I have some creeping concerns based on recent observations that have made me feel distinctly uncomfortable. Everything feels so stage managed here. If taking risks is part of development then the claustrophobic slew of structures here are enough to render you completely unable to think or act independently and as a result everyone seems to rely heavily on the system being infallible and thus no-one takes any responsibility for their actions.
By way of example I think it is crazy that someone in Canada can be prosecuted if they supply drinks to someone who then decides to drive home. It is, of course, a given that you care wether your friends kill themselves or others but surely you shouldn't be culpable if they make a bad decision? I am not trivialising drink driving but I am questioning who is ultimately responsible.
On a different tip the 'dog parks' of the US are ridiculous. Size related areas for small, medium, and large dogs coupled with a shit load of rules which are basically accommodating poorly trained canines that belong to people that don't have the time or the appropriate skill set to own a dog.
In the U.K having a dog and walking it provide great pleasure, that is why we have them. The idea of sitting on a plastic bench in a landscaped box of faeces smeared greenery watching your pet in doggy crèche is utterly pointless and soul destroying. Walking a dog should be a stride out into nature with your friend at your heel, a time to take stock, gather your thoughts and be utterly present in the natural world, free to decide who you met and where you walk. No structured pathways or imperative sentences on boards around the fences.
Out with a friend this morning I felt as if I was taking part in group exercise session in a prison yard with the size segregation representing the gang culture one might expect to see in a jail. Surely if the American people are not allowed to find their own ways of helping their dogs work out stuff between themselves and get along then there is absolutely no hope for harmony across cultures and creeds...