Walter White from Breaking Bad famously said – “I was alive”. What essentially drove him to create that Drug Empire was entrepreneurship, that excitement of feeling alive. It was not about providing for family, or for the progeny etc. Being alive seems to be a lot about being in touch with reality, sort of being plugged in. That constant awareness to gauge the situation and to adapt plans accordingly. In a way, being alive is also a lot about being human. What separates us from animals, at least most of us, is that ability to not just instinctively react, but instead use real cognition.

Being alive is also quintessential Americana; no other civilization has encoded this into their Constitution. That framework to avoid being shaped by the collective, but instead through individual volition, essential English liberties seamlessly upgraded to American Federalism! Being part of a collective is comforting. Whether its politics, sports or music, we tend to seek out that tribal identity. It’s probably our hunter gatherer instincts, constantly pushing us to belong. In that sense, American institutions are sort of intended to push back against those primitive instincts.

James Madison quite presciently stated in defense of  Federalism — ” the society itself will be broken into so many parts, interests, and classes of citizens, that the rights of individuals, or of the minority, will be in little danger from interested combinations of the majority”. While most of the world enforced compliance through govt machinery, American framers attempted to avoid that very fate. While most of the societies built governance for conformity, American framers attempted to avoid that very fate. While Americans allowed that civil society to emerge, a society where there is scope to feel alive, most of the world pandered to conformance. I think it’s Hayek who once said — ‘man got civilized in spite of his best efforts’? From that perspective, in spite of our best efforts, American Federalism incentivized emergence of civil society. Society where an individual will have that opportunity to feel alive.

Even though at a more basic level, riding motorcycle is also a lot about being alive, and probably more about staying alive too. For starters you are always in touch with the realities of the environment. You’re expected to be responsible for your own safety. You’re not protected by the collective, their seat belts or air bags. You have to be aware of the guy in his truck and the mom in her van, busy sifting through their critical Facebook posts. You need to simply adapt your path to steer clear of them, or any other potential threats, social media driven or otherwise. But the flip side is, when you are riding, all the other travails melt away. So plugged in to that sublime present, there are no cognitive resources to think about that uncertain future, or that disappointing past. In that sense, you feel alive, but in a totally different manner I guess.