People ask me all the time things like “how do you get by without flying?”, “How do you get by without a contract with the power company?”, and “how do you get by producing so little trash?”

I know they’re thinking about material things and mainstream values of acquiring more stuff even at the expense of relationships so from their perspective I’m depriving myself and sacrificing.

From my perspective, I’m avoiding hurting people. I’m living by the US Constitution, which says that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law even though the US government isn’t enforcing it. Pollution and depletion deprive people of life, liberty, and property without due process of law. The government gains revenue and power from what it’s charged to prevent.

So from my perspective, people who fly, burn fossil fuels to make toast, and order takeout more than eat fresh, local produce are depriving people of life, liberty, and property without due process of law.

Liberty, freedom, equality, and democracy require that the government enforce minimum requirements, several of which are included in the Bill of Rights. It’s no sacrifice to work to maintain and extend liberty, freedom, equality, and democracy to all, not just rich people and those who fly.

My questions for them

I don’t ask them out loud, but my questions for them include:

How do get by when you violate your most basic values and act like you have no choice when you do?

How do you get by when you violate the Constitution?

How do you get by enjoying freedoms that you deny others?

• ← The Atlantic Magazine ads
• My neighbors leave their windows wide open in temperatures below freezing, presumably blasting their heaters →