dub_scratch wrote:mgibbons19 wrote:Sorry for the long post, but this is one of my pet issues, and both sides deserve a fair and respectful argument.
Don't be sorry, mgibbons19. That was a beautifully well put observation. Thanks for giving me hope that there are people who can see the forest beyond the trees.
I like to think it all in fun, but perhaps my vitriol reflects a bit of frustration with many Americans, especially intelligent well intentioned ones I run into. I cannot figure out how so many of these folks can go to Europe, to the amazing towns like Barcelona or Prague and see that urban life is so much better there and then come back here and insist on keeping this unproductive system of car dependence....
But we have this mess of a system and I guess we'll keep tinkering with it until the whole thing collapse and we have to start over.... I just wish that we as a society would realize this and decided instead to skip this last dreadful step, step back, take a good look, see that we don't need this, and get rid of it. I did and I absolutely have no need for anything like a biofuel car.
Indeed, I do fully 100% agree with you. From Kunstler and New Urbanist rants against Disneyworld "main streets" to my own town, wanting to widen every street around, speed up the crosstown, all while the city schools lose funding, the city loses population to the next suburb over, and they fight over where to get the several hundred million dollars to put a freeway link in to the capitol. Ppl just cannot connect the dots and it is a tremendous frustration.
Head, meet brick wall.