Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Driving

An utterly bizarre article has been published in Newsweek defending the Americans' right to drive cars from big bad liberals. The author attempts to argue that cars liberate us from the controlling governmental forces: "Long before climate change became another excuse for disparaging America's "automobile culture," many liberal intellectuals were bothered by the automobile. It subverted their agenda of expanding government—meaning their—supervision of other people's lives. Drivers moving around where and when they please? Without government supervision? Depriving themselves and others of communitarian moments on mass transit? No good could come of this."

How anybody can manage to convince himself that a culture where one does not even have a choice whether to learn to drive or not is liberating will always be beyond me. Somehow, this author has deluded himself into believing that a life where you absolutely HAVE to acquire one extremely expensive and dangerous metal can after another, constantly worry about gas prices, spend money on repairinng this idiotic piece of garbage, pay for insurance, waste time thinking, worrying and bothering about parking is a life of freedom.

And the funniest thing is that after producing such profoundly stupid pieces of quasi-journalism these people keep wondering why print media are about to disappear. After the news of Dowd's plagiarism and ridiculous articles like this one, I can't wait for the last print newspaper to die. People who write this stuff are either completely brainless or in the pocket of the automoile industry. No wonder that the public doesn't need their "news" and "opinions."

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The habit of the right-wing pundits to scare people with government involvement (and to strongly overdo it) is indeed very annoying...
Apart from that - one just should choose a car which is within one's means and relatively new. Then there is not much to worry about. Creating the lifestyle not requiring to quickly move from point A to point B in places where there is no mass transit is not always feasible.
V.

Clarissa said...

I don't know left from right, though. This will be painful.

Where is my right to choose?

Anonymous said...

Everyone has right to choose, but there are no choices without consequences... Choosing not to drive limits one's choices concerning places to live, travel, etc...

---This will be painful.

Are you actually saying you are going to drive? :)
V.

Clarissa said...

Since I don't see how I can choose not to drive in Edwardsville, I think I might have to. :-(