Dead Nation Walking | James Howard Kunstler
James Howard Kunstler -- World News Trust
May 18, 2015
Many people seem to think that America has lost its sense of purpose.
They overlook the obvious: that we are striving to become the Bulgaria of the western hemisphere. At least we already have enough vampires to qualify.
You dont have to seek further than the USAs sub-soviet-quality passenger railroad system, which produced the spectacular Philadelphia derailment last week that killed eight people and injured dozens more. Six days later, were still waiting for some explanation as to why the train was going 100 miles-per-hour on a historically dangerous curve within the city limits.
The otherwise excellent David Stockman posted a misguided blog last week that contained all the boilerplate arguments denouncing passenger rail: that its addicted to government subsidies and that a free market would put it out of its misery because Americans prefer to drive and fly from one place to another.
One reason Americans prefer to drive -- say, from Albany, New York, to Boston -- is that there is only one train a day, it never leaves on time or arrives on time, and it takes twice as long as a car trip for no reason that makes any sense. Of course, this is exactly the kind of journey (slightly less than 200 miles) that doesnt make sense to fly, either, given all the dreary business of getting to-and-from the airports, not to mention the expense of a short-hop plane ticket.
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Warpy
(111,419 posts)ride trains, never mind the mucky-mucks who were on the derailed train in Philly.
The point is that they don't take trains, preferring to take that expensive and inefficient short hop flight with limos at both ends of the trip. Or they're treated to chopper flights by their big donors.
They're also stuck in that 1950s mindset, when everybody earned enough to afford cars and personal transportation was king because it was door to door and of course the oil would never run out or even get more expensive.
They're dangerous morons.
TimeToEvolve
(303 posts)they were the intellectual "dark ages"
Warpy
(111,419 posts)They coincided with the best deal labor had ever had, but they were regimented, segregated in every way (not just by race), and provided pure hell for anyone who wasn't a white male.
TimeToEvolve
(303 posts)and then the economy and world events turned sour and the good ol' times vanished, but many of us kept the selfish attitude with us to this day which still hampers any attempt to right the wrongs.
Demeter
(85,373 posts)Have I left anything out?
The sense of purpose is strong, but in prison, there is no purpose allowed.
leveymg
(36,418 posts)no matter what.