The personal car, next to sliced bread, may very well have been the most significant invention ever. I’ve always been struck by the idea of the automobile; someone needs to do an in-depth study of how the car affects the psychology of humanity. Think of it, anyone, with a basic income, has the capability to open a magical door, sit in a seat, and command the passage of distance down the interstate at 65…78…93 MPH. What personal sovereignty! Kings and emperors could not boast such speed or individual independence. If you were a king, you would have to order coachmen to get your royal carriage, you would be dependent on other human beings to do their job. I’ve driven from the bottom southwest part of the United States to the northmost part in 24 hours, driving nonstop, and except for my wife and sister-in-law, did it independently of anyone else. That has to have an effect on the inner psyche of humanity. Maybe an illusion about time and space? Or a feeling of individualism? Driving is, in fact, a very isolated experience. Furthermore, they make small market economies very difficult, because the competition can be outsourced for cheap, making it tough for your local farmer to compete with the truckloads of peaches from California. Another possible downside is they separate friendship and geography; this can be a good thing of course, allowing me to see my best friend who lives up in Oregon, yet it takes away the necessity or need to build a community out of people you have to live with. Something is lost. Do not get me wrong, much is gained, and I love a good road trip as much as anybody, but to pretend that nothing was sacrificed when Henry Ford gave the world the model T is blindness. Use your car, but recognize they are unnatural. Make an effort to recreate local community and business, otherwise civilization will continue to become more lonely and isolated. I said the car gives a feeling of independence, after all it is just you and the road, but that feeling is an illusion. You do not drill your own oil, nor have you built your own car, or cleared your own roads, and if you are like me you don’t even know much about fixing the beast either. And if gas gets any more expensive… All this, instead of giving the individual true personal freedom, makes slaves of men. Slaves to mechanics, manufacturers, and the local Circle K. This voluntary bondage might not be too hard to bear, but it takes just a little something from mankind, making him a bit less interdependent with his local environment, community, and own yankee ingenuity, and is sold to faceless corporations. Not all change is good change, I’m just sayin’.
Reflective Wanderer 