addictive convenience is not freedom
"I can't give up my car! I need it to run errands at lunch! I need it
to get the kids to band practice! There's no safe way to cycle to
work!"
LIES LIES LIES.
Not meant to deceive the listener, these statements instead deceive
the speaker into believing that their life contains "problems" that
only an automobile can solve.The creation of "problems" where there
are none is typical of the self-deluding language involved in
addiction. When an alcoholic considers life without drinking, he
worries, "How will I relax after work? What will I do when I go out
with my friends?" The lies help to preserve the addiction.
The automobile addict lies to himself daily in order to shore up an
illusion of personal freedom created by a life built around their
addiction. When perceived comfort is threatened by pressure to kick
the addiction, such self-deceiving lies make it easy to talk oneself
out of change.
I am reluctant to use the word "freedom" in the context of my feelings
about cycling, because the tradition of linking the word to the crutch
of automobile addiction (and the ruse of "anti-terrorism, but that's
another story) has largely ruined it. When you suggest that a driver
leave their car at home, they hear "give up your freedom." That makes
it difficult, if not impossible, to convey the feeling of not having a
car to one who can't imagine living without one. And yet, the one word
that comes to mind every time I settle into a ride is FREEDOM.
I was over a year car-free before I began to sense the freedom of an
automobile-less life. I think it takes a commitment to a full year --
four full seasons (if you're blessed to live in an area with four
seasons, as I am) -- before it sinks in. There is something
indescribably amazing in knowing that no weather, however upsetting to
the driver, can stop you from pedalling -- and enjoying pedalling --
your way around life. I can't imagine going back to relying on an
automobile now.
