Trains Are Freedom

[marmar]

from the California High Speed Rail blog:



Trains Are Freedom
Mar 1st, 2011 | Posted by Robert Cruickshank






Does that look like freedom to you?

Apparently it does to the far right. This completely ridiculous and insane George Will column attacking trains as somehow being antithetical to freedom has been making the rounds today:

So why is America’s “win the future” administration so fixated on railroads, a technology that was the future two centuries ago? Because progressivism’s aim is the modification of (other people’s) behavior.

Forever seeking Archimedean levers for prying the world in directions they prefer, progressives say they embrace high-speed rail for many reasons—to improve the climate, increase competitiveness, enhance national security, reduce congestion, and rationalize land use. The length of the list of reasons, and the flimsiness of each, points to this conclusion: the real reason for progressives’ passion for trains is their goal of diminishing Americans’ individualism in order to make them more amenable to collectivism.

To progressives, the best thing about railroads is that people riding them are not in automobiles, which are subversive of the deference on which progressivism depends. Automobiles go hither and yon, wherever and whenever the driver desires, without timetables. Automobiles encourage people to think they—unsupervised, untutored, and unscripted—are masters of their fates. The automobile encourages people in delusions of adequacy, which make them resistant to government by experts who know what choices people should make.

There are any number of reasons why this argument is so stupid as to cause one to wonder whether George Will should be allowed to write about anything other than baseball. First of all, trains and cars are not exclusive. People can drive a car to a train station. Or, as more people use trains, it creates more savings and more room on roads to allow folks to use cars as well. It’s not an either/or. ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.cahsrblog.com/2011/03/trains-are-freedom/

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. The contrast between Portland and Minneapolis convinced me of that

For one thing, even though I have taken over two paid-for cars from relatives here in Minneapolis and ride transit whenever possible, I still spend an average of $3000 per year on driving-related expenses.

In Portland, my total transportation expenses were 12 transit passes at $60 each. (Eight years later, they're now $85 each, but still a bargain in comparison.)

For real transit freedom, try Japan.

[txlibdem]

2. I'd never accuse George Will of being a "thinker" so I'm not surprised

His quote, "Automobiles encourage people to think they—unsupervised, untutored, and unscripted—are masters of their fates. The automobile encourages people in delusions of adequacy, which make them resistant to government by experts who know what choices people should make" has it almost correct.

Automobiles encourage people to think they—unsupervised, untutored, and unscripted—are masters of their fates -- when actually they are slaves of the elite class, chained to high auto loan payments, gasoline prices, insurance, and don't forget about the repair bills! Add a big mortgage on top of that and you've got yourself a wage slave. And the best part is that the slave thinks he or she is the master of their own fate.
:rofl:

The automobile encourages people in delusions of adequacy, which makes them easy prey for the vultures who sit at the top of the economic food chain and pull all the strings. Delusion is right. Look what is happening with workers rights today.