Photo credit here Last week, Caitlin Lansing bravely wrote a guest contribution to this site. Here are my official thoughts. I may not have known Chipotle was founded in 1993 but I do remember the lines out the door when it debuted in Charlottesville in 2005. I didn't get it. I mean Qdoba also had Mexican food and it did not feature a 30-minute line. Even better, I don't have to stand in line and make snap decisions. What salsa? What condiments? Do I want to spring for guacamole...I mean it's just staring at me, begging me to add it on? If this order is messed up, I only have myself to blame. So many options, so little time to make the decision. What if I choke under pressure? Are they judging me for getting a burrito and not a burrito bowl? What if I just really like tortilla? Qdoba's fascism may be limiting and the opposite of empowerment but it is quick and efficient. It's one less decision that I have to think about in my life. In fact, I heard this anecdote about politicians. The reason so many of them wear the same red and blue color patterns for ties is that they are so overwhelmed by life-altering decisions every day that they just want one decision to be preordained. So what does that say about our society that we have more choices at Chipotle than we do in the election booth? Who says choice is even the definition of liberty and freedom?
After all, choice is normally rigged. If I told my class, for this test you have a choice, either a project or a standardized test, a smart student would say, "I choose neither". I mean, how about nap time as an option? For a much more boring historical example when the country was on the precipice of falling apart and breaking into a Civil War, Democrats came up with a flawed but seemingly good solution: popular sovereignty. Instead of lawmakers deciding the slave issue, let the regular people decide. Well first it led to tons of bloodshed and the nickname "Bloody Kansas". Second, politicians still stacked the deck as the Lecompton Constitution demonstrated. Kansas citizens were given the choices: 1. Favor Lecompton Constitution with slavery 2. Favor Lecompton Constitution without slavery That's not exactly a fair choice if the Lecompton Constitution favored slavery, which it did. So what we see is that "the illusion of choice" is dangerous. Is it as dangerous as no choice at all? You can decide that for yourself. Lastly, Ms. Lansing does a great job explaining the tough juxtaposition of individual rights vs. the common good. This Declaration is about people but its also about each and every person. How do we balance these two things? Does this much customization come at the cost of community values, especially when I can just order my Panera on a machine and avoid all human contact whatsoever? These are wonderful thoughts, please share yours in the comments or volunteer to write your own article.
2 Comments
Caitlin Lansing
6/25/2016 07:16:17 pm
I think you have a future at Buzzfeed.
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Mr. Gibson
6/26/2016 09:50:02 am
I'll take that as a compliment Caitlin, how much do those guys get paid anyway? :-)
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