We’re
Americans; we drive. It is hard to believe, but America has been motoring for
just over a hundred years. Over this time, the reliability of the car as a
means of personal transportation has increased. Driving has become an assumed
right. Our vehicles have become an extension of American culture and our
individual personalities. Much of the world looks to us and our cars as the
paradigm for their own success.
The
model we drive can make a political statement about our place in the world and
our personal world views. Our vehicles tax our environment when we do not
appreciate the impact of our need to drive with availability of natural
resources. Because of the car, people live farther and farther away from the
places where they work, go to school, shop, and attend worship. Our parking
lots get larger and larger. A family with four drivers may drive all four
vehicles to attend worship.
The
car is the symbol of our independence. If one doesn’t drive, it is because of
disability or dysfunction. One of the most difficult things the disabled and
aging confront is the loss of their driver license. That can be a sentence of
isolation that is tantamount to imprisonment. The simple act of going to the
grocery store can become a major undertaking.
This
amazing piece of machinery which makes our lives so convenient is just one
thing that allows us to lose touch with our need for community. We are busy
people with schedules to keep. We know how long it takes to get from where we
are to where we’re going, and stopping along the way to pick up others is not
in our schedules. Thousands of people lose touch simply because we cannot be
bothered to car pool.
It
is important to remember that in the midst of our independence is our deep need
for community. This not only means that we need to think about how we use this
gift, but it also demands that we consider our personal etiquette regarding
other drivers on the road. When we forget this, our car and, by extension, our
very selves can become sources of oppression.
It
is always important to remember who and whose we are. Luther
reminds us that we are in the world but not of it.
Prayer
Lord,
by our very lifestyles we proclaim our relationship with you and our earthly
family. Help us always to remember that we do not live in isolation from the
rest of the world. We need and depend on their presence in our lives and gifts
of creation. Amen.
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