Levels
A few months ago, I drove around 2500 miles across the United States. The trip went remarkably smooth, save for a small patch of traffic we hit in the middle of Missouri. The highway was closed, so all traffic was diverted onto a two-lane side road...traffic which included several semi-trucks.
The reaction to the delay, and the glacial pace of the massive trucks, was evident from the behavior of the drivers in the cars. They jerked around the trucked, whizzed ahead of them and cut them off, tailgated them in a manner that only indicates frustration. Cars seemed relatively polite with other cars, but trucks were like an alien body amidst a group of white blood cells.
The thought that I had at the time concerned the drivers in the trucks, and their cargo. The fact is, the trucks on our Interstates are carrying our stuff to us. They are the reason we can get those Amazon Prime boxes so quickly. As long as our schools need shipments of food to their cafeterias, the problems of truck drivers are our problems.
The issue is, we don't see it this way. Inside the metal enclosure of our car, we see the world, and the others in it, through glass. It's like being in a bubble: everything is filtered. We start to take the perspective that what's happening in the world outside the car is happening to us, and causes us to ignore the simple fact that is simply happening. We focus on fixing our own perceived woes, instead of considering the larger situation.
All those angry or frustrated drivers might be right: perhaps our highways are too congested due to the sheer volume of our logistical system. Maybe we should consume 50% less Coca-Cola in Los Angeles over the next 5 years so X number of trucks don't have to drive around stocking machines and convenience stores. Maybe this, or some kind of action, will improve things. (Although I doubt this in particular would help, since I suspect traffic in LA follows Parkinson's law; namely, that number of cars on the road will increase to fill any available lane space.)
That's all a hypothetical, but in order for any progress to be made, systems like this have to be considered at this level, involving stakeholders who are in a position to effect change in the situation. Things like this do not get solved with sporadic individual complaints about personal discomfort or inconvenience.
If, individually, we're willing to invest so much energy into letting ourselves get frustrated while driving on crowded highways, then isn't there a theoretical surplus of energy that could be redirected and harnessed to solve any number of problems?
The reaction to the delay, and the glacial pace of the massive trucks, was evident from the behavior of the drivers in the cars. They jerked around the trucked, whizzed ahead of them and cut them off, tailgated them in a manner that only indicates frustration. Cars seemed relatively polite with other cars, but trucks were like an alien body amidst a group of white blood cells.
The thought that I had at the time concerned the drivers in the trucks, and their cargo. The fact is, the trucks on our Interstates are carrying our stuff to us. They are the reason we can get those Amazon Prime boxes so quickly. As long as our schools need shipments of food to their cafeterias, the problems of truck drivers are our problems.
The issue is, we don't see it this way. Inside the metal enclosure of our car, we see the world, and the others in it, through glass. It's like being in a bubble: everything is filtered. We start to take the perspective that what's happening in the world outside the car is happening to us, and causes us to ignore the simple fact that is simply happening. We focus on fixing our own perceived woes, instead of considering the larger situation.
All those angry or frustrated drivers might be right: perhaps our highways are too congested due to the sheer volume of our logistical system. Maybe we should consume 50% less Coca-Cola in Los Angeles over the next 5 years so X number of trucks don't have to drive around stocking machines and convenience stores. Maybe this, or some kind of action, will improve things. (Although I doubt this in particular would help, since I suspect traffic in LA follows Parkinson's law; namely, that number of cars on the road will increase to fill any available lane space.)
That's all a hypothetical, but in order for any progress to be made, systems like this have to be considered at this level, involving stakeholders who are in a position to effect change in the situation. Things like this do not get solved with sporadic individual complaints about personal discomfort or inconvenience.
If, individually, we're willing to invest so much energy into letting ourselves get frustrated while driving on crowded highways, then isn't there a theoretical surplus of energy that could be redirected and harnessed to solve any number of problems?