George Will is a good looking man but he isn’t very smart. He wants to explain to us why liberals and progressives like trains:
Forever seeking Archimedean levers for prying the world in directions they prefer, progressives say they embrace high-speed rail for many reasons—to improve the climate, increase competitiveness, enhance national security, reduce congestion, and rationalize land use. The length of the list of reasons, and the flimsiness of each, points to this conclusion: the real reason for progressives’ passion for trains is their goal of diminishing Americans’ individualism in order to make them more amenable to collectivism.
Speaking for myself, I like trains because I use them. I use the train to travel into Philadelphia, New York, and Washington DC. I have used the train to travel to Chicago. I once took the train most of the way to Hilton Head Island. I don’t like flying because I am susceptible to sinus infections and my ears do not always clear. Once, I lost hearing after a flight that didn’t fully return for a year. I don’t like driving into major cities for a host of reasons, including traffic jams, the high concentration required, and the expense of and difficulty in finding parking. Traveling by train is also relaxing. It’s easy to sleep or to read, both of which can be difficult in a car. I would like faster, more reliable, and, above all, more comfortable trains. Why? Because that would benefit me directly. It has never occurred to me that faster, more reliable, and more comfortable trains might diminish my individuality and make me more susceptible to collectivism.
But that’s because I am not a wanker.
Maybe it’s time to adjust the meds:
he is crazy. does he commute? someone else drive him? an ATV? what freedom of the open road is there on the LIE around 8am every workday. Or the Lincoln Tunnel?
George Will is indeed a very stupid man. And what does he think sitting cramped in an airplane does? Make us more rugged frontiersmen as we plead furtively for 13 halved peanuts from a scowling flight attendant?
yes, this is true. However, “furtive” pleading is definitionally ineffective. You should plead openly and, most of all, audibly.
Booman, I meant exactly “furtively” precisely because before the flight attendants roll out the food service they warn us about our limited choices variety-wise and quantity-wise. So all we are reduced to is to find sneaky ways to get something e.g. dropping the one peanut barf in the barf bag or something.. You get my drift.
It’s really hard to imagine a robust democracy with healthy discussion of policy in the public sphere when one encounters this. I absolutely hate driving, myself–this, and I’m a Southern Californian, so, dammit, I should know. For me one of the blessings of public transportation is reading time. Driving time is lost time. Trains are to me a sweeter way to travel than buses, but I think this might be psychological to a large extent. A nice bus, though, can be wonderful. I’m not approaching this from any other perspective than my own comfort, not even dealing with environmental benefits.
I’ve recently moved back to San Diego from San Francisco, and the weather here is so much better that I have been biking nearly everywhere I go. It’s become my new preferred transport. Obviously it doesn’t work for longer trips. What someone like G Will clearly forgets is what it’s like to be a kid. He’s a grouch. When I’m on my bike, I feel good, I smile, and I feel like a kid again. It’s really a beautiful thing that I can integrate such a feeling into the normal routine of my day.
…when you are biking you are making yourself more susceptible to collectivism with each turn of the pedals.
I will respond to your comment when I get permission to from the Borg.
You know when we’re in trouble when the notion of having fun while commuting is suspect.
Georgie lives and breathes to twist every question into the same answer. I suppose trains were problematic when they first linked east to west in this vast country and all those wagon trains driven happily by starving individualists had to buy a ticket instead.
They weren’t starving. The Donner party had enough to eat.
I’ve read that about the Donner Party but since my great grandparents came out west by wagon train I have several diaries in their hand that describe the brutal trek. There’s alot of prairie crosses left on the trails.
The Shrill one reminds me of something I should have thought of:
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/01/dagny-taggart-wept/
Especially given the trailer put out a few weeks ago.
I think you just explained a whole lot of things that separate progressives from wingnuts…”But that’s because I am not a wanker.”
I think that should be the Democratic Party’s new slogan “because I am not a wanker”. Love it.
Yes, sitting our cars in traffic makes us robust individuals. Sigh.
Only if you are the lone passenger. NO CAR POOLING!!
Plus there is a bit of romance about trains. There is an old story, from many years ago, that when one rides the train, they meet a stranger, a stranger with whom they fall in love, and they live happily ever after.
Every year, on the exact date that they met, they ride the train from shining sea to shining sea. Oh romance is so wonderful.
As some of you know, I don’t own a car. When I was 16 I desperately wanted one because:
a.) I lived in the Burbs of Spotsylvania and Civil War reenactment country and needed a way to get around
b.) You’re 16…
My mom didn’t let me get one, despite the fact that I had the money at the time, because I wasn’t “responsible.” That’s just her way of saying “I don’t want you to have a car because I said so.”
Well, for better or worse, I’m glad she didn’t let me get one (although she now regrets her decision, heh). I am now 22, and I can conclude that I’ve saved at least $15,000 in unneeded expenses from owning a car. I still don’t even have a license! People ask me why, and it’s because legally I’m still financially dependent on my parents (although in reality I haven’t been since I was 17). So the insurance company sees that, and if I got a license, they would jack my parents’ rate up; I would then be asked to pay the difference. The last time I checked it would be $120 a month, so I’ve saved at least $9,000 on insurance alone, never mind gas, repairs and a car itself.
In a sense I’m privileged in not owning a car because I have been able to get around without one. At home when I worked, I had a stay-at-home mom to drive me. After I graduated, I worked in North Carolina and found a car-pool. Now in college I have an excellent bus system and a bike. In fact, owning a car on this campus is a burden for most people; parking issues, the possibility of getting towed, etc. There are times where I wish I had a car, such as a few weeks ago when I had a dentist appointment and it took me an hour to walk there, but for the most part it’s something I don’t have to worry about.
I like trains, I like buses, I use them frequently when I travel. I just used the train last month to visit relatives in Pennsylvania! It took the same time as it would to drive the same distance because Amtrak is slow, but it was definitely more convenient than driving. And when you include tolls and gas, I probably paid less for my train ticket ($56). I used the New Jersey Transit on New Years to go from Trenton to NYC and paid like $30. Sure as hell cheaper than paying for parking and going through the tunnel (both ways); not to mention, who the fuck wants to drive in NYC?
So yes, George Will is, indeed, a wanker.
That has to be the most stupid statement I have read in a very, very long time. He is, indeed, buried so deeply inside the wanker’s bubble that no light from the real universe is able to penetrate.
My favorite line from The Magnificent Ambersons is this:
I had always liked public transportation but it wasn’t until I lived in Dakar, Senegal for 9 months that I completely gave up driving. When I moved back to the States I never really picked it back up. It takes me longer to get from place to place but I find that I simply do not plan to go to as many places as I used to, and my life is less cluttered, and better in the process.
I do not at all want to sound like one of those people who loudly lets everyone know that he doesn’t even own a television, but another thing about car culture I’ve never understood is how people get in the car and rush home from work only to plop themselves in front of a TV for hours. These same types will gasp in astonishment that I would take public transit and that my commute might be 1.5 hrs each way. I would reply that those 1.5 hrs were mine.
How can you call yourself a ‘Liberal’ or a ‘Progressive’ and still support Obama and the vast majority of the Democrats? Seriously, those terms don’t apply to them or you have arbitrarily changed their meanings.
Because in a two-party system one can support a political figure without completely agreeing with her or him. In any system, actually, but in a two-party system it becomes all the more imperative to do so if one is interested in actual policy.
I’d also ask that you show me the President after Johnson who passed more liberal/progressive legislation than Obama, and explain yourself.
I beg to differ, Booman. Dramatically.
Oh, not on the issue itself, but on Will’s attractiveness. he’s not good looking. the dude wears a toupee, his eyes are too far apart (and one is smaller than the other), and his nose looks like it’s made of silly putty. Furthermore, he’s covered with gin blossoms and burst blood vessels and his nose has sever acne scars. From this picture you can also see his bad posture, weak chin, his jiggling dewlap, and undersized head and hands.
So while i agree with you that he’s not very smart, he is also physically repellent. he reminds me a bit of a carpenter ant, but red instead of black, and drunk.
I don’t disagree, however…
Episode: The Jimmy
Also, too, George likes spicy chicken.
Wow how did I miss this? I guess it’s because I didn’t know who he was when I watched the show religiously.
OK, George Will. Put the copy of None Dare Call It Treason down on the table slow-ly. Now, put the copy of Masters of Deceit down slow-ly.
Now, back away from the table slow-ly.
And listen to me.
“Collectivism, my ass! It’s railroads.”
You know, most of the problems cited above with cars (and planes) disappear with enough money, like Will has. People drive you everywhere. You fly in private planes, or, at worst, first class in a (shudder) commercial jet.
Plenty of reading time. No stress over driving, or a crowded plane.
And best of all, it’s not “collective” when everyone else involved works for you. That’s how Will and his type think the world should function.
Also the VIP lounge in the airport. One of the problems with flying for ordinary mortals is the tremendous amount of wasted time at airports. Rail is so much faster and less stressful when getting to and from airport is factored in.
Anyone in DC ever bump into him on the METRO? Betcha he uses it. Everyone else does.
A few weeks ago on his radio show, John Gibson tried to push the meme that people don’t like trains but he was unpleasantly surprised by 3-4 callers who said they did like trains and support the development of high-speed lines.