Automobiles are Evil

This was my third car, a 1981 Subaru wagon. I hit an Oldsmobile 98 head-on at a combined speed of about 100MPH. It was my fault; I fell asleep.

A compact car cruising down the street at 50MPH has as much kenetic energy as the largest battering rams ever built, yet in the United States, reckless teenagers and senile old folks operate these machines in public places with little or no special training. Every day, we go onto the highways and place our lives at the mercy of strangers of unknown competence.

At one time, nearly every city in this country had efficient, privately-operated mass-transit systems. Even my little home town of Alexandria, Louisiana had an extensive streetcar system. In the middle part of this century, automobile makers bought these systems and dismantled them, forcing us to use cars instead. Car makers and oil companies then placed pressure on federal and state governments to build highway systems for cars instead of better public transportation for people. Now, most of us are compelled to spend thousands of dollars every year buying, fueling, maintaining, and insuring these dangerous machines. The automobile is a monsterous scam forced upon us by car manufacturers, oil merchants, and the userers of the insurance industry.

There, I've said it.

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