Unit 10
Motorism
The scene is a petrol station somewhere in England. A queue of cars stretches back over a kilometer down the road. As vehicles move slowly towards the pumps, the air fills with the sound of the car horns. People are getting frustrated and angry. Suddenly a fight starts. Two respectable-looking men in business suits are hitting each other. One has accused the other of jumping the queue. The British petrol crisis started in Sep. 2000, and car owners began panic buying. Many are genuinely worried about being able to get to work. But many more had no need for petrol. They still waited for hours to put tiny amounts in the fuel tank. Others wasted their fuel driving from place to place trying to buy more. Soon a serious shortage developed.
Things are back to normal now. But the big scare has raised lots of questions about the effect of car culture on society in general. According to sociologists, a motorist is not just a person who uses a car to go from one place to another. He is someone whose attitudes and beliefs are closely linked to the fact that he owns a car. He has a certain way of looking at he world. Call it "motorism". It is a philosophy that can be summed up in two words -- me first.
To the committed motorist, the car represents freedom. People without cars have to wait for bus or train. They go where it wants them to go. And they have no choice over who goes with them. The car driver can go exactly where he wants. he can choose the time of journey and travel with anyone he likes, or no one at all. When he passes a line of people at a bus stop, he smiles. He is a different and better human being. He is a car-owner.
Gradually, the car becomes part of his family. The thought that it might go short of petrol affects him in the same way as the thought his child might go hungry. He will do anything or go anywhere to satisfy that hunger. Many car owners do not think like this. They depend on a car for physical reasons. But others become psychologically dependent on their cars.
Car culture is an accepted part of many Western societies. But the panic buying of petrol in Sep. showed that it would be a dangerous way to think. It is like having a friend who believes he can fly. Everybody laughs, until he jumps out of the window.
There are signs that people are realizing this. Some of those who queued for hours for petrol now say they are a bit ashamed of themselves. Next time they will stop and think. According to the manufacturers, bicycle sales have risen by over 30 percent since the crisis. Some people are at last trying to break the car habit. Bicycles might be slower and less comfortable than cars. But everyone knows who is in charge. |