An Extreme Form of Democracy

A professor of mine once remarked about how McDonalds 'democratized' their hamburgers...everywhere they were the same, and the corporation made immense efforts to ensure this. And I recall a few years ago when a friend asked me why I hadn't yet bought a new truck, I remarked that 'my truck is just as fast in traffic as is yours."

I didn't put it together until just now, but indeed, traffic is an extreme form of democracy. It cares not about you, your chariot, your rims, your top speed, your missed appointment, your HP vs. torque curve, your patience, or how much or how little you paid for that modded Pacer. Traffic deals everyone the same hand. Asked of Americans, they routinely answer that traffic is in the top three of their most pressing issues.

Top three? Hmmm. Let's see, we've got two wars going on, possible global warming, catabolic economic 'hardships', double digit medical insurance premium adjustments, cancer, problems with children, problems with parents, obesity, terrorists, the underfed, child pornographers and sex offenders, burglaries, hangnails, pissy supervisors, backstabbing co-workers, hanta viruses and bird flu, the unraveling of our moral fabric...

But make me sit in my car for an extra 5 minutes a day and holy shit! We've got to do something to get some of these other cars off the road! The costs to American society, sitting in traffic, is stupendous! Billions trillions! wasted each year in lost productivity! And it's all 'cause of them 'green' assholes who value gasoline more than our time...they're the real problem. Don't want to us to expand our roads cause "it might disrupt the dirt shrimp." Don't want us to drill cause "we might deflower our coastlines." Won't affect prices until 2010 anyway. What about the mother of three cold babies who has to choose between gas and shoes today? What about them?