Let Them Drive Escalades!

For many decades US automobile manufacturers have acted like conspiring opportunists mocking American consumers by marketing behemoth, mega-horse powered motor vehicles. The damage these vehicles have caused the environment, public health(including accident deaths and injuries), our collective lifestyle and peace of mind are incalculable. GM, Chrysler and Ford have stifled innovation to maintain the absolute dominance of the internal combustion engine(ICE). Ralph Nader calls it the "infernal, eternal, internal combustion engine", which is, shockingly, an 1880's technology! The auto industry has fought change by every means possible . For reasons of mismanagement and misdeeds, many constituting crimes, the Big Three should be paying reparations, not receiving bailouts! Short of prison, CEOs and directors must be dismissed and the corporations placed in bankruptcy. There the industry would be completely restructured and the US government would hold controlling interest. Nader suggests that with the Big Three seeking bailout loans, Congress can do what seemed impossible--regulate auto manufacturers. This would also ensure that mass transit would become a viable alternative to automobile domination. The passenger vehicle has been "mass transit", but an absurd and bizarre type, probably more an expression of economic ideology than a practical approach to getting people about. Now, facing the dark side consequences of a failed technology, the Obama administration and Congress must act.
I am rarely a driver of or a passenger in an automobile. I am, while I live and breathe, a public transit user! So, when county officials announced recently that local bus routes and schedules would be cutback and fares would increase by fifty-percent, I grabbed my pen and wrote a piece for the local newspaper. Periodic changes discourage transit use. Decision makers should know this; and I assume they do. Why do something that will knowingly result in bus service never advancing beyond the fetal stage? Bus patrons would like to see a master plan that accurately envisions service needs. It is easy to dismantle. It takes will to create. Suddenly, the flippant expression allegedly made by Marie-Antoinette(but actually an older saying) comes to mind, about eating cake, rather "brioche" in the French context, adapted here as a fitting title for a piece about public transit and the poverty of a local system. The decision-making elite might find it humorous? They would rather be seen on a morgue slab than on a bus about town. The issue of rubbing shoulders with the "Great Unwashed" is a stumbling block for the supposed elite. And a social commentator could frame an essay around both class and human rights. Who does and does not get represented in a democratic republic was the elephant at the hearings on proposed changes. Sadly, the hearings were proforma and a charade!
There are no guarantees with bus service; the prospects are unpredictable. Yet, I always manage to get where I have to go. And I marvel! Interestingly, I never make needless or impulsive trips!
Unlike auto users who come and go as they please, I have to plan my trips carefully, for sake of time spent and efficiency. A complete grocery list is mandatory; for I can not immediately return for something forgotten. And I have to coordinate several errands with bus schedules. Over time, I learned how to employ two or more routes to accomplish things in as little time and effort as possible. I have come to know most bus operators and to appreciate their good deeds. They work under very difficult and trying circumstances. Bus drivers by necessity have to be compulsive, in the "compelling" sense of that word, in keeping pace with a dashboard clock. Every run is a race against time. A route is both a maze and an endurance test. Driving buses must be one of the most difficult and demanding jobs in this community; and drivers wonder why they are not better compensated?
Clearly, I have no love for passenger vehicles. I have observed the automobile phenomenon, and what I see is pretty scary! I know I am better off without a motor vehicle! Owning an automobile bestows first class status on some and can suggest (one is led to believe by advertisements) economic standing. For many the automobile represents personhood, itself. We are what we drive, to coin a phrase about food. A car is an owner's alter ego. And after decades of Detroit advertisements, it is no wonder people can not envision a meaningful life without possessing one or more. A person who grew up without a family car is going to have a different slant on what may or may not accrue from ownership. If one has learned to get along without a motor car, he or she can weigh matters more objectively. The possession of any material object brings various stipulations. Maintenance comes readily to mind. And keeping a passenger car going requires considerable time and money. I would feel "saddled" and "preoccupied" owning cars. So, I avoid situations that limit comforts and my sense of freedom and independence.
Over the years, many automobile drivers have told me that cars bring independence. Who am I to presume anything to the contrary? Drivers can do more, but of what? Time spent on ownership is not usually figured into miles per hour calculations. Few drivers know their annual cost totals. An important consideration is the illusory nature of ownership itself, repossession, towing, theft etc. There are ethical and moral questions about owning something with enormous negatives. So, some freedom from guilt(partial because I do live in a car culture) is important. Various freedoms are realized in not having an automobile; and, readers are asked to imagine them. Obviously, a spiriualized independence is not found through the possession of material objects. Interestingly, in small communities, sociability is often a feature on bus routes. There are some transit intangibles, especially for commuters--stress reduction and relaxation in just tuning out! When needed the bus is there; when not, it's out of mind--bringing me a kind of carefreeness that is quite liberating and refreshing. Hey! I have to catch a bus.