The absolute best thing about leaving the US several years ago is the silence.
I can go to bed every night knowing some random guy won't decide 3 AM on a Wednesday morning is the best day to crank up the bass to max and start a party. I can sleep knowing some old guy isn't going to compensate for his masculinity by revving up his modded motorcycle at 4:30 AM everyday. I can sleep knowing people aren't going to start screaming and fighting in the middle of the street at 11:30 PM and again at 7 AM, even in a nice neighborhood. I can relax and not have to hear someone blasting the action movies and advertisements from their TV from 6 AM to 10 PM every single day. I can take a bus and not be surrounded by people shouting at someone on speakerphone, and needing to repeat their every statement several times because 5 other people are doing the same thing.
And yeah. People who blast music while outside, especially in natural parks, are assholes without exception. I like that I can hike here and it's absolute silence, every single time.
During my flirtation with buddhism it came up quite often how inured some people are to constant noise. Everyone had stories of people who simply could not cope with a silent retreat.
Some people who are constantly 'on' are avoiding sitting with their own thoughts, in some cases due to treatable psychological conditions. The noise or the activity keeps them from being alone with themselves and sitting in a silent space, all of their intrusive thoughts hit like a ton of bricks and they can't even.
I wonder how much of the noise around us is invited rather than simply tolerated or excused.
I can go to bed every night knowing some random guy won't decide 3 AM on a Wednesday morning is the best day to crank up the bass to max and start a party. I can sleep knowing some old guy isn't going to compensate for his masculinity by revving up his modded motorcycle at 4:30 AM everyday. I can sleep knowing people aren't going to start screaming and fighting in the middle of the street at 11:30 PM and again at 7 AM, even in a nice neighborhood. I can relax and not have to hear someone blasting the action movies and advertisements from their TV from 6 AM to 10 PM every single day. I can take a bus and not be surrounded by people shouting at someone on speakerphone, and needing to repeat their every statement several times because 5 other people are doing the same thing.
And yeah. People who blast music while outside, especially in natural parks, are assholes without exception. I like that I can hike here and it's absolute silence, every single time.