The Automobile habit
the Rev. Andrew McHenry - Emporia
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
I APPRECIATED the editorial on the proposed auto industry bailout of “the big three.” But I also think we are missing the central problem: our excessive dependence on the personal automobile.
There are several consequences of our lifestyle that we need to ponder:
F It costs a lot of money. The average American is forced to invest a large portion of his or her income in something that rapidly depreciates — in addition to what we spend on gas, repairs, taxes, maintenance, insurance, etc.
F It is bad for the environment. Depending on who you talk to, the consequences range from breathing bad air to global warming to the risk of environmental catastrophe.
F The most tragic part is that it kills people. Between 40,000 and 45,000 Americans die in car accidents each year. Taken as an annual accumulation this is more that all of our wars combined. The tragedy is enormous. I speak from the experience of doing funerals for car accident victims.
It troubles me that so few complain about this. People just assume that it has to be this way since it is part of our lifestyle. But things need not be like this. Kansas used to have a fairly advanced passenger rail network. Over time there was a cultural transition, phasing out passenger rail in favor of cars.
Some of this happened because we developed a system of socialized highways while keeping the rails privatized. Since the rail industries are required to do maintenance and pay taxes, only freight service is profitable. Passenger rail service has been at a competitive disadvantage for decades, which is why it was all but abolished, with exception of Amtrak.
This makes improvement of passenger rail all the more important for the present generation. It’s a small step, but definitely a step in the right direction. The more public transportation options we have, the more we can wean ourselves from dependency on the automobile — both for the sake of our national economy and, more important, for the sake of the lives of Kansans.
the Rev. Andrew McHenry
Emporia
Happiness08 (anonymous) says...
Well, lets just bash the Rev. for making a suggestion.
December 2, 2008 at 3:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Happiness08 (anonymous) says...
I personally plan to exit in the clouds when it is all said and done!
December 2, 2008 at 3:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dale011 (anonymous) says...
I agree totally that we need to re-invest in passenger rail service expansion. AMTrak works well on the East coast due to the relatively short travel distances and the population density, but the model doesn't work here. On many occasions I have looked at rail as an alternative to flying to the east or west coast for business. Unfortunately the cost is more than twice that of a flight and the time to get there goes from 4 hours to 2 days. Even with that said, wouldn't it be great to hop on the train in Emporia and go to KC or Oklahoma City for the afternoon?
December 2, 2008 at 4:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
You are such a hypocrit crack.
December 2, 2008 at 7:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
arminius (anonymous) says...
"if EVERYONE was riding a passenger train you can bet there would be plenty of train wrecks."
-- probably so, but not to the tune of 40-45,000 deaths a year. It would save lives in the long run.
"When you have more people doing one thing (driving cars) you are likely to have more accidents related to that activity"
-- true, but it's not sheer numbers. Some people shouldn't be driving a car for the same reasons they shouldn't be operating forklifts, trains, or airplanes. A car is a large piece of machinery that requires a select set of skills to use. And our present system pressures EVERYONE out on the road -- including drunk drivers, people with deteriorating sensory skills, and people who haven't gained driving intuitional skills .
"if someone dies in a car accident wouldn’t you, as a Rev, say that it was just their time anyway?"
-- Absolutely not if the deaths are preventable. That robs people of the full chance they have to reach their God-given potential on this side of eternity. We don't have to live like this and we shouldn't.
December 3, 2008 at 9:04 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ZaneRokklyn (anonymous) says...
I applaud Rev. McHenry for bringing this up. I lived without a car for the past 14 years -- in two small Iowa towns and in Minneapolis and St. Paul. So it can be done -- if you only need to move yourself and your groceries.
Now that I have a car, I finally understand why people drive so much, even for piddling short trips: the price per additional mile is dwarfed by the monthly and annual costs. Once you've already paid your tags and insurance, why not spend a few pennies to drive another mile? I totally sympathize with Crackinsack on that point. The only thing that will get people to drive less -- as has recently been proven -- is higher gas prices.
Conveniently enough, higher gas prices would also make passenger trains the most affordable means of transportation (they are already the most efficient and safest). And higher prices will return, sooner or later, so as long as nobody comes up with another practical fuel, trains will return, with or without additional advocacy. Of course advocacy helps... thanks, Rev!
The safety issue cannot be discounted as easily as Crackinsack would like. Saying "only careless drivers have accidents" only works if you define a careless driver as one who has an accident!
December 3, 2008 at 9:08 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Happiness08 (anonymous) says...
God gave us brains for a reason. He intended for us to use them. That is what is meant by "God given potential". However, God does allow us as humans to make mistakes. Getting killed by a drunk driver would be a fine example of someone not using their brains.
December 3, 2008 at 2:43 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
arminius (anonymous) says...
Observation asks a good question. A shift in society would mean a shift in the economy, which would phase out some jobs that would have to be replaced by others. But this has happened before. The Pullman Car company used to be a major American industry before use of personal cars skyrocketed.
I appreciate the comments/compliments of Dale and Zane!
Crack sez:
"How do we know when a person dies if it was "their time"? "
-- We don't... God only knows.
"What is the extent of our "God-given potential"?"
-- That's ultimately between the person and God. The sky's the limit; God is powerful and can do great things through unlikely people. The Bible is full of examples.
"Do we have to live to a certain age to meet that potential? "
-- No, although long life is viewed as a blessing in the Bible.
"How do we know that the act of driving cars isn’t part of that potential?"
-- We don't, although we should certainly question it if it's killing off 45,000 Americans a year. Life is sacred. And we can make other ways of getting around.
"Are all causes of death preventable? If not, what types of death aren't preventable?"
-- Well, old age to start with. These vessels aren't intended to last forever. But that doesn't mean we should be content with needless, tragic deaths.
Question: Have you ever lost a close friend or relative in a car wreck? These questions take on new meaning when they're applied to an actual human being - instead of being just hypothetical.
I like Happiness's answer to your last question.
December 3, 2008 at 8:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
b3bill (anonymous) says...
I think we need all modes of transportation. Each serves a different purpose, in various ways for the needs of many people.
Regarding Amtrak, it is a shame that it no longer stops here, even though The Southwest Chief still goes through each day. Other major Amtrak routes have "whistle stops", which means the train is notified ahead of time to stop only if passengers are there to get on or off the train. With Trains 3 and 4 being all-reserved trains, and with today's communication means, it should be simple for Amtrak to coordinate stopping here for just a couple minutes when there are passengers.
Hopefully the effort to get Emporia as a stop on the new proposed Amtrak route from Texas/Oklahoma to Kansas City will get good support by the elected officials of Emporia and Kansas. I also believe they should request Amtrak to make Emporia a whistle stop for The Southwest Chief.
December 4, 2008 at 1:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
arminius (anonymous) says...
I agree Bill... Several years ago the depot agent in Topeka told me he thought Amtrak would be willing to stop here if the city could come to some agreement with them. We need these conversations to happen. The Chief already passes by just a few blocks from my house, but I have to get off in Topeka or Newton and drive all the way back. It makes no sense.
Crack... Please be aware that a person can believe in the sovereignty of God without being a fatalist. Lots of things that are within the realm of God's eternal plan are not of God's will, because (as Happiness already explained) God gave us a free will and sometimes allows us to suffer the consequence of our choices.
This should not stop us from obeying God. The Good Samaritan didn't pass by the beaten traveler and say, "Oh well, it must've been his time." He did what was necessary to help him. And Jesus tells us to go and do likewise.
December 5, 2008 at 12:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )