If I lived in the US I think I'd go bonkers over the polemics.
The vitriol expressed in the R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.'s article linked to is saddening. Notice how insidious his 'revelations' around population growth, famine and climate change are. I wonder how many countries count as 'civilized' on his calculus, what scale of famine counts as 'famine,' and whether the revision of climate science should really be counted as a mark against those who warned against climate change but had the direction of temperature change off?
Rugged individualism is not cool. You can see it run through a certain portion of the American psyche. The Horatio Alger myth meshes well with rugged individualism. Its maintenance supports the notion that social welfare policies and universal health care only prop up the weak, those who really don't deserve to succeed in life - Social Darwinism at work. Watch out for the socialists, they'll make us weak! Apparently, those who ride bicycles are easy targets as socialist, environmentalist weaklings who don't really deserve to exist if they can't hold their own with cars, SUVs and the rest.
Which reminds me, what is up with a woman in an SUV yelling at my wife, as she rode with my daughter on the back of her long-bike on the sidewalk along Carling avenue near Dow's Lake (as I do when I'm with my daughter): "Hey, get off the sidewalk, you're not allowed there! You are supposed to be on the road!" Seriously, what goes through people's heads when the do stuff like this? My wife could only laugh. You want to give us a ticket, Mrs. Citizens Arrest? Call the cops? Go for it. There is the letter of the law, and there's the spirit of the law. Thinking people follow the spirit of the law, especially when the safety of their children is concerned. If infrastructure is not conducive to safety, we have to adapt, and sometimes that means operating outside the rules. People who consider themselves 'good' because they dogmatically follow rules scare the s@#t out of me.
Friday rant over.
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Corporatism at work at our front doorstep. America (USA) no longer owns itself at 15 trillion dollars in debt. Its own people raped it to death.
Very dependent creatures they have become. Dependent on big box stores. Dependent on big hunks of metal to haul their ass around. Dependent on corporations to show them the way...
In order for the masses to justify their cause, they will ridicule the minority (cyclists). There are plenty of examples of this on the planet.
If anyone gives me grief while riding, I give them the finger. F-k'm.
Just last day I nearly got in a fist fight with some ass in an SUV. I told him to be more aware of cyclists as he nearly ran one over. He almost got out of his vehicle until he noticed how "crazy" I was getting... I really wanted to bust this guy's brains in for being so careless.
We're up next for corporatism unfortunately. As the world sees our resources and our politicians put us on the stage like some cheap hooker that is begging to be raped something horribly for a cheap buck (despirate like).
just to elaborate a bit more...
what we have now is social corporatism.
Where we all stand on guard for not the good of humanity, but for the good of the corporation.
For we have all be accustom to a "push button" state of existance. We love our creature comforts now to the point were we will die for them no matter what.
dependent creatures we have become and we have lost our ability to innovate, to survive and to be one with nature anymore. As we sit sheltered by the social commodities we have created (big homes, big fine cars and caviar etc...). Totally dependent and addicted to our ways we are now.
So, stupidity for our lax and lazy ways will become the norm until we hit some critical point (bankrupt, climate change, or run out of energy etc...).
Here are some good reads anyhow:
Hot, Flat and Crowded.
Why your world is about to get a whole lot smaller
Twilight in the Desert
Natural capitalism...
there are enough books out there, America is just too stupid and addicted to all its waste and inefficiencies to change.
When change does come, there will be a lot of lazy cry babies...
who ever is in power at that time, will have a hell of a sht stick up their rear end.
(like the challenges that Obama has now, who wants that job! 15 trillion in debt, each man women and child owes 55k and they are 60% dependent on foreign oil!)
Someone raped them silly.
Don't even get me started on the two biggest threats to our livelihood and society...
1) Corporatism...nuff said.
2) Sprit of the law vs. letter of the law....Sorry to break it to the optimists out there but "spirit of the law" went out with the dodo bird and common sense long ago. Too many people in today's world are either too stupid or too apathetic to actually arm themselves with factual information or be able to make decisions based on circumstances. They just want some law written in a book to tell them what to do, regardless of mitigating circumstances. How many times has a car buzzed by you 3 inches away with tons of room in the opposite lane? Reason...can't cross that solid yellow line, it's illegal...better to potentially kill someone.
Just look at the government we keep electing and try imagine how we are not doomed.
OK - FRiday rant's and doomsday comments over. It is the weekend, time to ride and partay !!
Way to reign it in Mike.
I think that's enough ranting for today. Lets ride!
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