Good old Sheldon, the product of not enough philosophical discussion in the Republic due to not being able to convene in the street. Which is why he's so aloof and weird.

Risk can be had on the highway; we don't need it in town, bub. Keep your air pollution and weapons of mass destruction towards the borders, will ya?

OK, so to respond to the comments about the elite. One must remember what I mean by this term in comparison to what other forms of elitism offer. When I say ELITE, I am referring more to a Spartan sense of independence of the material world with it's essentially gainless comforts. That is what I am suggesting. Some people flat out will not want to embrace this. There are those who simply are gluttonous for the sake of being so. There are those who will never relinquish their comforts no matter how detrimental they may be for society or the planet. That is what I meant by ELITE. It is more of a monastic type of elite, which depends upon physical sustenance, well being, exercise, appropriate nutrition, meditation in order to think way outside the box to solve problems, etc. None of those things require excessive use of anything worldly, and so the purpose is to embrace a new form of what I call ADVANCED CIVILIANSHIP.

Consider further. How would furniture evolve in a society where no one drove, or at least, where driving was reduced by 65 to 70 percent. I can see furniture evolving into something more COMPONENTIAL. That is, parts of furniture can be assembled together but made of light material to be carried by one person.

Also, sharing of resources. Can you imagine if everyone were told to empty their garages and put everything into the street so we can all see what we've got to work with? First, the streets need to be cleared of the automobile. Second, people need to not be afraid to share.

That is what I mean by ELITE. It is a higher state of consciousness through yoga, or UNION. That is why I say this is an alternative to religion and non religion. What non-religious person says you need to curb your greed and desire? Well if you believe in evolution and you care about the planet and the community, here is an opportunity to do so. But it requires conviction the likes of which is found in religious sentiment.

Finally, calling this class of citizens ELITE is to give a concluding remark concerning this point in history. What ELSE would we call it? HOW WILL YOU GO WITHOUT A CAR? Do you have any idea how many people are TERRIFIED of that? It's ridiculous. Without sacrifice we aren't going to make it. Look at 9/11. You mean to tell me those airplanes made it ALL THE WAY TO THE TRADE CENTERS? Talk about wanting to sit comfortably. That's what I'm talking about. Sacrifice is essential to solve this problem of global warming. I hear so much talk about how this is a problem and so many Americans keep starting those cars, as though they don't realize that they can stop it. Apparently it IS for the elite...

With a voice like James Howard Kunstler, it is nice to know that social critics such as myself are not alone. I will definitely look further into his work so thanks a bunch for mentioning him.

I do agree that the practicality is tricky. As a philosopher who is a bit other-worldly and ascetic, I have to admit that this seems to call for an alternative which is going to ask of us a different response to the problems of the world. I actually consider my philosophy to be an alternative to religion and non-religion.

In working to establish this philosophy, it was necessary for me to create an alter-ego in order to express the idea. The reason is because it is very difficult to embrace the philosophy full-force and live up to the standards as a real person, owing to the fact that the current socio-economic climate is predicated upon the automobile and its use. An ideal can live up to the standards and everyone can collectively idealize, strive, and try, but it's difficult for a person to actually say NO, 100% all the time. SHA'ANIAH BACCOPHET can speak brazenly, because he isn't real. The flesh and blood man who types these words finds it difficult but do-able, and the battery in my van atrophied twice because I didn't start it for so long. Pardon any violation of civic duty as I strive towards this ideal. I am actually an Ohio State graduate and live in a small community, but with an alter-ego like SHA'ANIAH, people think I'm from somewhere else, which is the point.

It looks as though over the last 100 years there has been a kind of generational overlapping. First it was necessary for our great-grandfathers to have cars. Then our grandfathers had them necessarily as well. But this was in the days of Jim Crow, when a black person looked foreign to the local whites. Then when my father took the wheel, things really were changing. We saw the rise of hip hop and black culture in jazz music. The first Yogis came to the country. We started to see evolutionary theory quite popularized. Such was not the case in the 1920s.

Now at this point, the automobile and its use has been drawn out excessively to the point where it is detrimental to society, rather than beneficial. At this point Lebron James makes 20 million dollars a year when there are so many able-bodied young men who would be willing play ball at a local level for 60k dollars a year. The automobile allows them to drive away to attempt to make it into the NCAA and then hopefully the NBA. This is a false dilemma. Either make millions or play for nothing. I argue that it is due to excessive mobility and lack of taking advantage now of resources like the internet. I think that the driving age should be 21, because a person should be required to stay in the community for a few years after graduating high school in order to make the town better and learn to live independently of the automobile and contribute to the community and depend on others as well. That's to say nothing of the drinking age, which I think should be 16. No driving means drinking is safer and that's what high school kids want to do anyway, right? Let's get rid of the Wal Mart and install 5 small grocery outlets, and the grocery stores will pay people to deliver food all over town. These are real jobs.

But someone has to point these things out with conviction because we need to really make a strong change. Tupac Shakur pointed that out in 1996 when he said "its time for us as a people to start making some changes. Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we live, and let's change the way we treat each other. You see the old way wasn't working so it's on US to do what we gotta do to survive." Now is the time for the fruition of such a calling. Without conscious intent, people continue to gravitate to their cars, and the automobile industry was bailed out in the first decade of the 2000s when all of that money should have went into the pockets of every American.

I have to be honest, it is necessary to meditate and excel the mind to higher states of consciousness. It's time we stop denying that reality is fundamentally MENTAL. Quantum Mechanics is proving the words of ancient sages like Buddha and Jesus: if you had faith the size of a mustard seed...Those who think that the world turns off of a material plane alone may simply not be able to live in the New World which is calling for us to make these changes. This alternative to religion and non-religion is a form of advanced civilianship, and may indeed be for the elite.

Even today there are people who clean up after horses. Its called life. At least now we have hoses and SELF PHONES to let them know on the spot where its at. Doody calls.

Strong as an ox, cunning like a serpent, sly like a fox. Nowadays its, YOU'RE LIKE A MACHINE. Awkward, as I AM that which the machinists are trying to create.

Someone owes me a drink.

Please do read the essay. I tried to make it free but amazon is a business.

I understand 100 yrs ago needing a car. But not anymore. So much more is known about societal and cultural options there's no reason to drive away anymore. Each small town can be its own little city. I dont reject highway travel. Its simply neglectful to isolate yourself in a small community. Its poor application of spontaneity and person to person commerce due to how much weight and how many obligations the automobile carries. A person needs to walk in off the street, not drive there. If you drive there, you dont know them. Not the way you know them if you sleep there.

The small town now has so much potential. Yoga, martial arts, different philosophical perspectives, cuisine from all over the world. As long as we have time and space through which to do these things.

Many people try to live off the state by paying more for cars and insurance instead of eating essential and having social and dietary needs met. Then they work 60 hrs a week to afford daycare for kids they dont raise. GREAT.

Lol i put my material goods at the curb and let any and all pick at them.

I dont even have electricity. You wanna hang out some time?

Come by on a saturday and if im not too drunk from wine due to sabbath ill explain how the lotus pose is ideal for a homeless man.

Oh I wish I could be such a jester, but if you want to know what I REALLY think about cars, the UNCENSORED essay is available for viewing on Amazon.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN BY ADAM BRUNSWICK.

Yes each society must evaluate safety for themselves. And what I am pointing out is that due to our own psychological and nationalistic impoverishment people in this country are gravitating to their cars too much. I would understand 100 years ago. But not anymore. There simply is no sensible reason why a small community cannot be what you drive to the city to experience. Maybe back in the days when it was considerably more difficult to pass the time due to lack of available options, but with the rise of globalization it is possible for a society to be much more multi-cultural and people-oriented. You don't need to drive away anymore. Especially with the smart phone revolution and the internet. Sing in the street and stop auditioning for American Idol. People need too much money because the money is in the insurance and automobile industries, which are negated when the automobile is voided out. The lifestyle choice of driving is replaced by developing character and making more money doing whatever it is you choose to do. The automobile industry is where the surplus of funds comes from.

Maybe you find it meditative to listen to music in your car. OK? Should you have the right to pollute the air and threaten the bodily existence of other beings while you do it? I don't think you should.

Less cars, more bars. Walk it off and think about what you were gonna do. C'mon, listen to reason.

The problem of pedestrian travel versus logistical transport is to address the separation of church and state. No man needs to drive. It is a violation of civic duty. The community needs to be partitioned out according to these boundaries. There should be no driving in the town square. Colleges were developed to resemble small towns, and in the first two years on college campus one is not permitted to have a car. The town needs to be restored and people need to embrace walking as a neglected medium between men. The automobile is a carbon-emitting, steel-pod isolate. Isolate, here, is a noun. It disallows spontaneity in economics, such as walking in off the street. It separates people and the exchange of visibility is off-kilt. I get it frequently, "I saw you out walking." But I did not see you..? This is a problem in the social fabric. It is a conscientious problem, and a humanitarian one. If a person lives in one town, then I expect them to work, sleep, and fellowship there too, as well as shop. Now, excessive mobility has made it so that I work in town A, sleep at town B, and have friends and shopping in town C. That is not good social welfare, and it creates frailed, untrusted relationships. Also it puts wal mart in business instead of more small businesses.

It is here admitted that these arguments seem to imply a degree of human evolution not yet seen in history. It is here advanced the thesis that there exists an alternative to religion and non religion, and that this alternative is needs be fleshed out in the future endeavors of humankind. The planet has been heated by several degrees because man refuses to raise his consciousness. That is the argument. In order to deal with the reality of life, it is time to embrace the methods of advancement known in monastic Buddhism, ancient Egypt, and the New Testament Christian church.

But for the American public generally, the argument is something like this. Walking five miles a day is normal, defined so by evolutionary theory. So no small community five to seven miles in diameter should need the automobile for its maintenance and thoroughgoingness. In a small community, residents are to be receptive to social cues and are to take on the role of ants, carrying and doing up the community componentially, bit by bit. Old women can carry pieces of plastic. Bicycles sometimes weigh as little as eight pounds.

It is not argued that use of highways is prohibited. Large scale logistics in the form of highway travel is not a violation of the natural mandate. The caravan can be used for highway travel. Remember the context was to develop this model for a walking town. Not a walking highway. Calling it sin is in order to implicate persons of all walks of life, such as Christians. God forbid a Christian would relinquish his keys; how would he get to church? It is sin, and Christians need to address it. And it's also sin for naturalists, who believe in evolution which was perpetuated through bi-pedalism. The word is difficult to avoid when we are trying to improve life by adhering to lofty ideals and formulated strictures for humanitarian and disciplinary reasons.

The Wal Mart has replaced the bazaar. The shopping aisles are supposed to be streets and the Republic churns off that.

There needs to be an alternative. The problem is that the economic and social domains are completely skewered into farce forms due to the constricted living space. Without being able to drive to a place of business, you would do business on your own, independently. But now people are in the business of inducting a culture into America from a foreign land due to lack of living space and conscientious application of mind to create their own culture in the street.

So because everyone is aware of the risks, it's ok to live with this dilemma. If everyone walked, there'd be no dilemma. I'm not causing any danger by walking.

Walking is the natural panacea. Without walking as the natural lubricant for society, there is desolation of the republic in the form of farce commerce, false livelihoods, and lack of conscientious consideration for one another. Without walking and sharing of goods and resources, everybody and their brother drives around with the cargo capacity of four horses , when he himself is non comparable to one. It causes psychic and conscientious problems due to the greed of excessive space consumed in the course of less time, and due to the harmful effects on fellow civilians in the form of pollution and bodily harm.

Evolutionary theory, over the course of hundreds of thousands of years, has implicated upon mankind a natural mandate of sorts. This natural mandate is that no man needs more than he can carry with his own two hands. How do you think the automobile was created, and what happened before? The caravan evolved over the course of a very long time, and prior to it's creation everyone supported themselves first, and the tribe was sui generis. Now, no person can support themselves without the automobile first. This violation of the natural mandate is sin, according to natural science.

The answer is a philosophy of self-contained realization, as the religion of the ancient Egyptians and then over the course of the progressive evolution of this ideal, into the new testament writings unto the philosophy of Jesus Christ.