An American in Copenhagen #7

You may not understand what the above image is but you will if you read…
So it seems I have finally come to my last blog here at SustainableCities. For those interested in viewing my future sustainability blogs, I will be writing for a European Blogging Competition these upcoming few months and I will post the link to it once it becomes available. I realise that I may have stepped a bit out of the boundaries of my architectural education over the course of this series An American in Copenhagen. However, I will contend that the built environment that we inhabit really isn’t designed by architects as much as it is shaped by things like economies, governments, cultural phenomena, the natural environment, and so many other factors. So, as an architecture student looking at how such factors shape the places we live in and in turn shape ourselves, I would like to give my most important pieces of advice to Denmark and the US respectively.

As I said previously, I have been shocked by the lack of ethnic diversity in Denmark and I think this represents the area where the nation must improve the most. Many citizens of this country do not seem to realize that people who leave their original homelands to come to Denmark are doing so because they want to be here over their place of origin. Now, I cannot see myself ever accusing Denmark of being a completely racist country but, my many years of American history and literature lessons have made one thing clear to me: racism is not something people are born with. No culture ever starts out intrinsically despising another one. Maybe there’s some curiosity or caution but prejudice and discrimination are always things that develop. If you continue down this road of fear that you are on, you may encounter many of the hardships my nation has endured. Learn from the US as the US learns from you.

Now, as for my country, the American people need to put some trust in their political system. I know I said earlier that the US should simply pay more taxes but I don’t think I was looking at the issue with enough insight and I really didn’t get to the heart of the problem. There are ways of putting trust in, supporting, and getting involved in your government other than giving money. Of course, paying taxes is important but, in the words of my president at his inaugural address, “the question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works.” And it hasn’t been working up to standards for the past few decades. It seems the American people have not been investing enough time in their government and have instead devoted too many of their hours to working with the end result of making money. In this way, our dreams of building a glorious long-term future for ourselves and our children have been replaced with dreams of what we can buy in the immediate future: new cars, big houses, lavish parties, vacations to Disney World, etc.

So my advice to America is not to sit on its behind in this economic crisis wishing it had all of these short-term diversions. Get out there and educate yourself about your government and the place in which you live. Now, this place might not be Disney World but I promise you it can be something that is much better than it is now. Take a walk around your town/city and think of things that could improve it. Attend your town meetings and read the news to learn about the important issues that your town/city, county, state, and nation faces. Talk to your neighbours about these issues and share ideas about how to address them. Elect leaders that have a good understanding of the issues. Write to your politicians about the problems you see in his or her viewpoint. And, above all, educate yourself about new possibilities.

Now, I have talked a big talk over these blogs and now I know I need to walk the walk. There are some huge challenges that await me when I return home and I can only hope that I have the will power to meet them. Someone I deeply respect once told me, “when you’re young, you think you can change the world but, as you get older, you realise how impossible it is and you see all of the forces that lie beyond your control.” There is an immense amount of truth in this statement but, if there is one thing I can say to someone discouraged by these forces that seem out of his or her control – they are not. You may be only one pixel in a huge picture but, if that one pixel is brightly lit in a field of darkness, it can still be noticed. Just don’t drop out of the picture completely. As long as you are in the system you still have some of the power that can help change it. The image above is that of our world’s future. And it cannot be made alone.