i choose freedom

Read this morning about the increase in people wanting to build walls, the higher the better, around their houses or wanting to live in so-called 'gated communities'. And I can't get my mind around why people want this? Especially not in Sweden!

I mean, I also want a big nice secure lock on my door (although I lived a couple of years in an apartment with a door that hardly closed and felt more secure than in my current one with bolts - which I did not chose to install). But that's it! I don't want to live behind a wall - hidden from other people but also closed away from any view and feeling of the neighbourhood. Choosing in fact to live in a luxury prison.

In addition, neither the gated communities, nor especially the individual walls actually provides more security according to research, since burglars easily make it over the wall and well inside can work on unnoticed. I couldn't imagine choosing to live in a neighbourhood like that, where when walking down the street you walk between walls, hence with none of the normal feeling of security by the light tickling out of windows, by the presence of other human beings, with no view of the gardens, but only sterile high walls, and with no view out once inside. Regretfully approx. 1/3 of Swedes disagree with me and although the regulation in most places makes it difficult to get the right to construct walls around your house - it is probably only a matter of time before it changes.

But why? Why do people want to put themselves in prisons? Me, I choose freedom any day!