Cardolatry
How to cut the addiction to your car
I find myself in a progressive car service center after a rather frustrating morning. While making my way along my normal route to work I was rudely interrupted by another driver. I’ll spare the details (I am fine), but this collision got me contemplating how our society interacts with these pieces of metal we call cars. .
More humans live in cities than ever before, and most of these cities have a public transit system that does not alleviate the need for a personal vehical.
We work in one zip code, play in one, and sleep in another. All of this by the power of our cars. It’s no surprise that we feel so overwhelmed when something happens to them. In the past year I have owned three cars and will likely own a fourth within the next month, and have been in two accidents in the past year (one totaled, the other is being diagnosed as I type this). *Neither accident was my fault, by the way.* I believe that we have a car-dolatry.
These experiences have led me to some thoughts:
We are in love with our cars.
I’m using the word love because I don’t think that addiction would be a good word for how we feel (although that was my fist inclination). Or, may I say, we are in love with the with the freedom that we believe cars bring. If you’d like to figure out if you’re in love with your car, try asking yourself what you would do if your car went missing one day. How would you feel? What would you do?
We believe that cars are the solution to the problem of our increasingly segmented and expanding cities.
Our feelings of love or addiction toward our cars are built around this second observation. The majority of people in the United States do not live close enough to where they work to reasonably commute by anything other than a car. Take the cars away from people and watch unemployment rise through the roof. I’m a perfect example of this. I work in a retail store on the north side of Indianapolis and it would take me over an hour to bike to my work. When I arrive, there are no public showers to clean off. No one wants a stinky salesperson (even if you’re buying weed). This isn’t because it’s not feasible to bike work, rather it’s because we don’t believe it’s reasonable. Try biking to work some time. You will likely hear someone yell, “Buy a car hippie!”
Our cities are designed to favor private transit over public transit.
Occasionally, you’ll find a city that has sufficient public transit, but insufficient public transit is the plague of growing cities, especially in the Midwest. Many politicians complain about the cost of public transit, but public transit leads to social mobility. As a student whose income falls below the poverty line, having a car is a large expense. Instead of getting a return on investment for my car expenses, my money brings revenue to corporations and government. I pay tax on gas, on licensing, and on any other product I buy for my car. I pay to change my oil, to get new tires, to insure my vehicle, and for anything else I need to keep my car road ready. Yet, I am guaranteed nothing. Sure, I can drive defensively, but what if the guy next to me doesn’t check his blind spot and hits me? I was prepared, but goodbye social mobility! You may say that no one profits in an accident, but against all odds, the government profits. They ticket, they collect taxes. The system is designed this way for the profit of the government and those who control it.
What is the solution?
This solution isn’t a complex one and doesn’t have to be resolved over night. We can fix this problem slowly and methodically. Here are some suggestions on how to free yourself from car-dolatry:
1. Find a job closer to your home, or a home closer to your job.
2. Buy a bike or a good pair of sneakers and start commuting and burning fat.
3. Vote for politicians who believe in social mobility, public transit, and human equality.
4. Contact your politicians and ask for their help.
We are a part of a government by the people and for the people. You can make a difference and increase social mobility in your city. You may even lose a few pounds while you’re biking to work!
