Where are we headed?
Freedom of movement is an opportunity many Americans take for
granted.
If you have the money, you can travel by bus or train to points
around the continent and via plane or ship overseas. A personal car
or truck is also a blessing to those who may have the means of
purchase, upkeep, gas and oil.
For generations back to people moving around on bear feet, then
horses, donkeys and mules, when our ancestors took the notion, they
simply packed a few items and point.
Movement was so important to the Ancient Romans; they built roads
connecting points around the empire. Feet carried merchants,
soldiers, slaves and free citizens to places they never imagined.
I remember growing up around folks who seldom travel farther than a
day’s walk or horse ride from home. In fact, taking the annual or
bi-annual production of the farm or hunting was often the longest
trip seen.
With the addition of Mr. Ford’s affordable vehicles to the mix, the
common man could venture beyond their normal circumstances. People
who had never seen a city, the mountains, the deserts, and the sea
were able to do so at their own speed. They were no longer tied to
the cost of a ticket, a stagecoach, or a train, or later the bus.
I remember traveling on the Greyhound and Trailway buses. I even took
two extended passenger train trips. It was generally a cheaper way if
your family couldn’t afford a car or couldn’t spare it to take a
trip away.
As I look upon the landscape of what we see around us, I have the
feeling that there are those who wish to catapult those of us with
little back to the days when we are confined to where our feet might
carry us and no farther. Vehicles are becoming so expensive, for
many, they will not be able to have one. Passenger trains are being
heralded as a future option in my region again, I imagine they will
rebuild all the bus and train stations as they push us further back
in historical practice.
In the early days of vehicles, there were all kinds of ones being
invented. There were some pretty durable electric cars in that first
30 years. Once again, they are pushing us that direction, but to me
their ability for durability, reliability, providing power, is a pipe
dream. I watched a report about a man whose car was recently stranded
where he was vacationing due to extreme cold and an inability of
charging stations to work. He had to find another way home and have
it shipped back.
Men, women, families are amazingly resilient. We have survived for
thousands of years. We have migrated throughout the world on foot
before the first wheel was invented. Then the four-legged animals
joined us in our efforts making travel better. With each leap
forward, we went farther, but our feet still came along for the ride.
While there are segments of our world looking to carry us towards the
stars, there are others wishing to limit our freedom of movement and
keep us within 15 minutes of our home for most of our life. They will
have various reasons, none of which matter in the spectrum of human
history. Ultimately, it will be the freedom of the human spirit that
will decide, where we go, and when. The how may take us backwards, or
it may take us farther than we imagined. Either way, we humans will
maintain our freedom of movement; it’s a natural as breathing. We
will.
