But I ask again, how much freedom should you enjoy at the loss of my freedom?
A lot of people now have exacerbated natural allergic responses due
to auto pollutants in the air. I mean this on a local level, like one
street over from mine, due to everyone having the freedom to pollute
the air in my neighborhood as they drive through on their way to
work. My neighbors no longer have the freedom of enjoying Spring in
Atlanta. A couple of them are having trouble enjoying the simple
freedom of breathing.
<<Obligatory LBC content>> The guy rebuilding my 1275 has been wacked
out on Clariton II for the last week as the combination of pollen and
pollutants is killing him. His shop is just down the road from my
house. I'm sure he'd like the freedom of breathing easier. I love the
freedom of getting my engine back sooner, too, but I understand that
it might take him a little longer when he's seeing double.
All the commuters who drive 30 miles from the eastern burbs through
my neighborhood on the way to downtown limit my freedom to move
easily to stores, theaters, my work, and the LBC shop. All of these
would be less than a 5 minute drive without traffic.
I don't think America was founded on freedom; I think it was founded
on COMPROMISE, with the greatest freedom to the greatest number being
one goal of many. I don't think we're moving towards this goal in
some areas quite yet, one of them being the clash between freedoms of
personal transportation encroaching on freedoms of personal standards
of living. This conflict is both personal and ubiquitous in the US. I
don't like people cutting through my neighborhood, but I love driving
the Sprite, and I sure don't just do it up and down my driveway, etc.
The discussion about balancing these freedom really just started last
year on a national level. Who knows how it will play out.
At 10:07 AM -0500 3/9/00, Ajhsys@aol.com wrote:
>In a message dated 3/9/00 8:33:07 AM Eastern Standard Time,
>type79@ix.netcom.com writes:
>
><<
> And on, and on, and on...
>
> IMO, Our transportation problems in the U.S. extend far beyond the cost of
>fuel. >>
>
>- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>
>To a point, I would agree...but...this country was founded on freedom. All
>right, it was religeous freedom at first, then freedom from the opression of
>the
>King, but freedom none-the-less.
>
>The automobile is the ultimate expression of that freedom. No other country
>is like this, where even the poorest of citizens usually has a car
>(regardless
>of condition) and most families have multiple cars. We treasure our freedom.
>I like being able to get in my car and drive to the mall WHEN I WANT. No bus
>schedules to read and wait, and no trains go to the mall anyway.
>
>Besides, I am afraid to ride most of the mass transit in the Philly area.
>The
>gangs control the trains (I was almost attacked on a train the last time I
>rode
>one) and the busses are filthy. The subway system is inadequate unless you
>are in center city.
>
>Other countries take care of their mass transit system. I have ridden the
>subways in London and Paris and they are clean and well organized. I never
>got lost and there were plenty of trains.
>
>We still have the lowest gas prices outside of Iran. I'll keep my freedom,
>thank
>you!
>
>BTW, when I was a kid and just started driving, gas was 29 cents. Now that I
>make more than 6 times as much at my job, gas has not gone up by the same
>amount.
>
>At the end of the movie Braveheart, Mel Gibson shouted "FREEDOM!" when
>they suggested he take the bus home. See what happened to him?
>
>Allen Hefner
>SCCA Philly Region Rally Steward
>'77 Midget
>'92 Mitsubishi Expo LRV Sport
Jeffrey H. Boatright, PhD
Assistant Professor, Emory Eye Center, Atlanta, GA, USA
Senior Editor, Molecular Vision, http://www.molvis.org/molvis
mailto:jboatri@emory.edu
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