Date:         Sun, 8 Apr 2007 19:19:50 -0700
Reply-To:     Nathaniel Poole <myth.wright@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Nathaniel Poole <myth.wright@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Fwd: Are they still making the bus/Vanagon anywhere these days?
In-Reply-To:  <2dd286c40704081919x65425de7n3ad52e2eea689dc4@mail.gmail.com>
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While it's easy to be dismissed as a grumpy old fart dreaming of
better days, this is also my experience, but I think it is just part
of a larger social devolution. I blame:

Unbridled capitalism. Everyone needs at least 150hp, right? Watch most
car commercials and see how they are driven. My bus was shipped with
67hp.

Male adolescent power fetish. From television to virtual reality to
global politics (Iraq) western culture has become obsessed with power
in it's rawest form. Driving fast and recklessly is part of that
fantasy. Twenty years ago the kids drove fast but grew up and showed
their prowess with money and social status. Now everyone has a need to
show off like tenagers and damn the consequences. Women,
unfortunately, are also lining up at this altar. There was a time when
you would have been laughed out of town if you showed up in a hummer.

The rise of the cult of the individual. See capitalism. All that
matters is what I want and I want everything and I want it now. And I
want to drive fast and get home or show off or whatever and that's all
that matters. Your safety isn't my problem. Now get the @#$% out of my
way.

Breakdown of basic transportation infrastructure. When did it become
acceptable and even normal to have to commute 2-3 hours a day? People
now commute from Chilliwack into Vancouver. Urban sprawl has led to
impossible traffic problems, especially in the vancouver area, which
is great for tire manufacturers and the petroleum industry but the
consequences are enormous for everyone else.

Nathaniel


>
> "When I was a kid, the cars were weak and the drivers were adequate, but it
> seems that nowadays the cars are really advanced and driver training hasn't
> kept up.  I hear at least twice a week about a 'rollover' on Hwy 1 outside
> of Vancouver and I'd swear that I never heard of a single one from
> 1971-1999".
>
> Combine that with aggressive drivers and a diminishing law enforcement
> presence (namely the state police, at least around here) and you hear about
> accidents where the surviver has to be cut out of what is left on a weekly
> basis. I don't care so much that they take themselves out, but I do really
> mind when they crash into someone totally innocent, taking them out too.
>
> Dumbing down, hmm, maybe. I really think that a lot of bad driving is done
> by drivers that know perfectly well what they doing (not driving badly but
> thumbing their nose at the law). I was traveling down a two lane highway
> last Saturday going through a village with a 45 MPH speed limit. I was doing
> 47, and got passed twice by people going much, much faster. Of course when
> they got to the crest of a hill further down the road, the brake lights came
> on hard, because that's where the cops used to sit.
>
> The attitude seems to be "If I can get away with it, I will".
>
> Dave
>
> On 4/8/07, Jake de Villiers <crescentbeachguitar@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > <Snip>
> >
>