On a radio program last week I heard the guest of a travel show recommend that American tourists take time where ever they may be headed, to venture an hour away from their destination. The radio guest stated that what one will find an hour outside of any destination are people living with “other truths that are also self-evident”.
That phrase has stuck with me throughout the week precisely because it is such an ingrained American term. “We hold these truths to be self-evident”, but within the context of the radio discussion, I remembered quickly that “truths” are subjective and localized to the same degree in other populations as they are within the American population.
For example, in Finland, a truth that is self-evident is that one will have access to life-long educational opportunities that are essentially free, though paid for through taxation. Income taxes may be higher, but it provides for a richness that is not tied to ones production of personal wealth. Instead, life-long educational opportunities enrich the nation as a whole.
In most industrialized countries a truth that is self-evident is that one’s health care needs will not require an entire family to be displaced for the sake of paying for the necessary care. In the same industrialized countries a truth that is self-evident is that the aged are cared for by extended family, often living under the same roof.
A truth that is self-evident for citizens in many countries (and some US states) is that they can marry either a man or a woman, regardless of their own gender. It is self-evident that their relationship is legally recognized and protected, even if the evidence is rather new to the law books. In most major cities I know that I can hold my boyfriend’s hand and in doing so, not cause bring undue harm to either of us. It is a truth that is becoming self-evident.
Sometimes the truths we hold to be self-evident are created by where we work and with whom we socialize. Last week I told a story of how, when I worked for the airlines, I could travel anywhere and visit with any number of friends around the globe at a moments notice. No-cost jet transportation was a truth I held as self-evident, as did most all of my friends. For many years, my sense of self was defined by that. When it ended, I had to learn new truths.
Today I met with a friend I’ve not seen since February. On-line, yes, but face to face, it’s been four months. We were talking about this topic. The question he posed was how, as a culture, do we expose our own population to these other truths that are also self-evident.
“How, for example,” he stated, “would I convince my parents to travel to another part of the world to witness these truths?” I told him that I didn’t think that one had to travel that far to learn of these other truths.
When I’m in Chicago, one truth I hold as self-evident is that I do not need to memorize transit schedules. Because public transit runs so frequently, I only have to wait for the next bus or train to arrive. I never have to wait “another hour”.
In Minneapolis a truth that is self-evident is that everyone has public access to water, be it lakes or rivers. Laws require that every waterway have public access points. Life in Minnesota revolves around lakes, even for the folks who live in downtown high-rises. When I’m in Chicago, because I grew up in Minneapolis, I can’t imagine not having access to Lake Michigan.
These truths are not necessarily something we consider every day. They are so true that we know them to simply be – we’re not required to think about them. As today’s conversation continued, my friend asked this, “What local truths would we, in Columbus, hold to be self-evident?”
Are our local truths socially imposed or legally structured? I’m curious to hear your answers to this question.