An Open Letter to Steve Harvey, from a “Stupid” Tiny House Owner
Dear Mr. Steve Harvey,
I hope this letter finds its way to you through the sharing efforts of our “stupid” tiny house community on Facebook and other.
The text below was taken verbatim from your recent tiny house rant.
“This is for people who have given up. This is for people who ain’t got no faith. Who ain’t got no dream. I still believe if you write the vision and make it plain, he who reads it will run to it.”
“You want to live in a tiny house it’s cause you gave up . . .you’re stupid.”
I live in a tiny house and pride myself on my faith, ambition, and the responsible lifestyle decisions I’ve made.
You believe that those who look for this lifestyle have no faith, yet some of the greatest humans to live have desired less only to gain more. Would you regard the Dalai Lama as “faithless?” While I can’t speak for him, I’m confident that he places little importance on the pursuit of a 2,600 SF home. Our faith is more spiritual than material.
You say that we have no dream. Why must our dreams conform to your ideas of “success?” Dreams start with Freedom. Freedom is defined as a state of not being imprisoned or enslaved. The idea of living in a smaller space allows for many freedoms. It can free you from disparaging debt and costly home repairs. It can provide less of an impact on the planet. It can help to free your mind from distractions and focus more on the things we consider important, like mental health and mindfulness. These may not be in the scope of your “vision,” but please don’t judge those of us for prioritizing these goals in our lives. Those of us who have ventured outside the normalcy of the “American Dream” are the adventurous dreamers you seem to believe have given up.
In your mind, we’re considered “stupid.” We’ve joined the tiny house movement with careful consideration. We’ve analyzed our priorities and factored these into our decision to downsize. For many of us, financial stability is a life-goal. A tiny home can be purchased for the downpayment cost of a typical house. Our country is $16 trillion in debt. A major contributing factor was the general pursuit of “more” and “larger” homes. The underlying problem stemmed from this mindset that you’re now preaching… that “bigger is better” when it comes to our homes; that “more stuff” in our lives equates to “more success;” and that a focus on “internal” rather than “external” is stupid. We think we’ve made an intelligent decision, both for ourselves and the greater good.
We don’t want to judge you personally, or the criteria by which you measure “success.” If it’s fame, money, and things, then congratulations on your success. You seem to be doing quite well.
We value other metrics. By these, we’re also doing quite well. If you think your ego can fit through our tiny door, we’d love to have you over for dinner to further discuss!
Best Wishes,
Fran at TinyHousehold.com