Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Automobile

I read a post on a forum on the topic of cars, and I think it is a wonderful demonstration of the sheer cognitive dissonance that is America's "love affair with the automobile".

Nothing will ever beat the private car for convenience. Its right there, whenever you want it. Its fast, it can be used by almost anyone, regardless of physical health. No wait times to use it, no sharing it with the smelly unbathed guy, the psycho homeless person, or the screaming infant. No stops along the way. And it can be used for trips of any length, to any location, without being forced to walk a mile from a bus stop to the destination. And depending on where you're driving, it can be quite pleasant- driving in the mountains with the top down is *fun*. I've never had a fun bus ride.


Apparently this person has never lived in a city, never had to walk a quarter mile across a parking lot, never had to sit in traffic for half an hour, never even stopped at a traffic light. He's never gotten drunk and been unable to drive, never been a teenager too young to drive or had a grandparent too old to drive safely.

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