Speed, mobility, freedom – every car commercial toys with our fear of being stuck just like the now outlawed cigarette commercials used to. Buy this, and you will be who you really are, right? And, to some extent, it’s true. Every time we get into a car, the world of highways, bridges, and tunnels lies in front of us and it’s up to us to determine where and how far we choose to travel on them: the mall, San Francisco, or Patagonia.
But then again, most of the time we get into the car just to go to the store for bread, or to pick up junior from pre-school, or to make it to work in time just like everyone else. And just like everyone else we get stuck at the first left turn. No matter what horse we’re riding, whether purebred, mustang, or mule chances are we will spend the better part of our time in a hell of exhaust fumes, asphalt, and red lights. Lucky you if you downloaded your favorite podcast and can travel at least in your mind.
Truth is, besides mobility and individual choice, the car also gave us suburban sprawl, strip malls, car dealer ships, eight lane highways, gas stations, snaking highway intersections, spoiled coastal views, pollution, and, ah yes, economic growth. The giving if not forgiving nature of the car….
But there is one thing it took and it did so without most of us noticing it: Increasingly, the car has robbed our children of their mobility and freedom.
How many kids walk or ride their bikes to school or over to their friends nowadays? How many of them have schools or friends that live even close to them? How many children play outside – and I don’t mean in a fenced-off yard, or tennis court. How many of them meet other kids by just being out on the street for an afternoon?
Truth is children have lost out while ‘our’ mobility increased and the country moved into double digit growth.
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