Being an international student, I tend to compare some basic aspects of life in America to how things are done in my home country. While some issues can be considered to be insignificant, there are some aspects which make a huge difference. For example, the laws for gun control are completely messed up in this country and every sane American would agree. For Americans, owning a gun may not be something weird, but in my home country possessing a weapon in any place without a proper license is a punishable offense. And this license is only provided to security organizations and government officials in charge of safety and security. Basically, no one other than the cops and government officials own weapons or have even seen one. But I am not going to talk about the gun control laws in America in this article. Frankly, I am saving that for some other day. I am trying to highlight the differences and the culture shock which I have gone through.
The most basic aspect of life which troubles me on a daily basis is that this country is not pedestrian friendly. People just don’t prefer walking. Initially, I thought that the people have become used to traveling in cars, but after visiting some of the cities I understood that the actual problem is that this country is not pedestrian friendly in its present state. Apart from the typical downtown areas in cities, there is a lack of pedestrian-friendly streets in this country. In reality, my home country faces a lot of issues in the same regard due to lack of infrastructure for pedestrians. But the vehicles on the road also acknowledge this and tend to accommodate the pedestrians and cyclists on the road. But according to my observations, it is impossible to walk on the streets of American cities. I have personally experienced this in cities like Memphis and Houston. It was either too dangerous or almost impossible to walk on the streets due to lack of a simple sidewalk.
I have seen instances where people had to drive to the bus stop to pick up kids from their school bus or had to drive to the park for them to play, yet these parks and bus stops are within walking distances. These people are forced to use their car as no parent wants to risk their or their kids’ lives by walking on roads without a sidewalk. These are not even main streets. These are the roads in housing communities. People have to drive to go to the nearest park or clubhouse which is literally two blocks away.
For an outsider like myself, this seems outright absurd as I am used to walking to places all my life. I have been accustomed to walking to the nearest grocery store to get some food or walking to the nearest fast food joint to grab a snack. This lack of infrastructure for pedestrians in one of the most economically powerful countries is just preposterous. Walking is the most basic form of exercise the muscles of a human body can get and this nation is depriving this of its people. The obesity problem this country is facing can also be related to this phenomenon. This also has many economic implications. Due to the lack of pedestrianism culture in the States, people tend to not use public transport like buses and trams as it always leads to walking extra distances. This also is one of the reasons why a car has become vital for survival in the country. This decreases the air quality index which can lead to severe health issues; basically decreasing the ability to breathe fresh air. Excessive usage of gasoline can also lead to the depletion of natural resources, increasing the demand and hence increasing the price of a gallon of gas.
For someone born and raised here it may seem like a common phenomenon, but as an outsider, it is just ludicrous that 90 percent of the people don’t walk anymore. After seeing countries like Germany where even subway trains have the infrastructure to not only accommodate people but also their bicycles, and countries like the Netherlands where the major mode of commute is cycling, it is shocking to see that people don’t even realize this as an issue anymore. It is time that people start focusing on some basic aspects of their lifestyle and begin working to improve them. After all, a country is as healthy as the people that reside in it.
