Mexico is for Smart People

In the US we have warning signs on everything. As a society we do everything possible to protect people from their own stupidity. Mexico isn’t like that. In Mexico you are expected to be intelligent and use common sense.

I think that most of this has to do with their legal system which doesn’t allow outrageous lawsuits. You can sue for the time you were off work and medical expenses, but that is all. There are no million dollar lawsuits for mental trauma because you tried to trim your hedge by holding a lawnmower above your head.

On the plus side, people are expected to think and for the most part they do. If someone gets hurt it is their fault–not because of a large corporation who should be sued for millions of dollars.

On the negative side of things, there are a lot of little safety issues that we take for granted in the US. For example, I couldn’t find anyone who understood what a ground fault interrupt breaker was. In the US every bathroom has one so if you accidentally drop your hair dryer into the bathtub, it will cut the power. Not so in Mexico. Some of the wiring in the bathrooms is very scary to see–but people are allowed to make their own mistakes and the government isn’t trying to legislate that people do smart intelligent things.

I do appreciate building codes in the US. It is nice to know that your bathroom will have GFI outlets and a vent, the water heater will be properly vented, and you’ll have a cold air return to properly circulate air. However, as we create more and more laws in the US, it is refreshing to be in a country where the government isn’t trying to legislate common sense to people.


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