America's Driving Mandate: Don't Call It "Freedom"

10 pointsposted 5 hours ago
by speckx

3 Comments

irdc

3 hours ago

Eye-opening quote for this European: "if the latent demand [for car-free living] they measured were ever realized, US car-free rates would approach European levels"

We're not so different after all.

MrDrMcCoy

2 hours ago

I've traveled from the US to various parts of Europe, Central America, and Asia. Most regular people I've met, despite as different a background as you would ever run into, are indeed not so different and are pretty easy to get along with if you start with a baseline of respect. People should travel more to dispel the false divides we imagine in the values of others.

At home, where political divides burn hottest, I've learned that most people have similar goals for what they want to see in society. The disagreements seem to mostly stem from what methods we believe work or are necessary. Starting from the common goals and working backward through the methods and why we believe in them builds understanding and respect. Rarely does it result in a changed mind, but it's still a massive improvement over the litany of "us vs them" interpersonal cold wars we seem to default to.

nitwit005

an hour ago

I'm sure there are cultural differences here, but no one enjoys wasting money. If people end up in a situation where a car is going unused, they'll tend to sell it.