INDIVIDUALISM, SELF CONSCIOUSNESS, AND PUBLIC SPACE

One of Ned's inspirations is the philosopher, historian, and social critic Jacques Barzun, who wrote, among other things, a seminal work on the evolution of western culture between 1500 and 2000. Titled, "From Dawn to Decadence," it identifies four themes that mark the character of western culture: they are EMANCIPATION, INDIVIDUALISM, PRIMITIVISM, AND SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS. Ned's outrage du jour is one he has been stewing over for decades, the appropriation of public space for private use, an outgrowth of individualism and self-consciousness.
We have all experienced this, and we may have all been guilty of it in the past, sometimes, lost in our own self consciousness. Everyone has seen people with dogs running free in public parks where signs clearly say "all dogs must be on leash." Ned most recently saw this on the beaches of South Carolina, where county ordinances prohibit dogs off leash after 7 am. This of course doesn't faze the dog owners. When confronted, they invariably say,"my dog is well-behaved", or "he doesn't like leashes", or "he needs to run free sometimes", or "are you a tourist?" or, Ned's personal favorite, "why do you hate dogs?" Another one Ned has appreciated in the past is "We live nearby" as though it gave the dog owner exclusive rights to use a public park or beach.
Now, these are often the same people who clamor and bleat about the lack of public space in which to exercise their animals, and agitate for "dog parks", which is land purchased by tax dollars, for the exclusive use of dog owners. And of course these people, lost in their sense of self-consciousness and zealously defensive of their "rights," see absolutely nothing for non-dog owners to complain about.
Ned has also experienced persons using annoyingly loud leaf blowers and the like, who, upon being confronted with the fact that their use of the device was causing discomfort to others IN THEIR OWN HOMES, say, "well, get earplugs, that's what I do." The idea that a person in the privacy of their own home should have the responsibility of defending themselves against the outside use of a dangerously loud appliance seems perfectly appropriate to users.
So, Ned's readers now are empowered to think of their own examples: perhaps they would think of frisbee players in parks, who take over large swaths of the park for their idiotic pursuit.
Or drivers who engage in anti-social and even dangerous driving habits, and if challenged sometimes become violent about it.
Or cat owners who feel their cat should be free to prowl the neighborhood, preying on baby birds and shitting in other people's yards.
Individualism and self-consciousness: great traits, unless they are carried too far. As Mark Twain said (or if he didn't somebody surely did) "Your right to swing your fist ends where my nose begins."