Don't Drive Day

A week from tomorrow is Election Day and I am sure many of you are excited about the prospect of your candidate or candidates winning the hearts and minds of your fellow citizens…

Good for you.

I am glad that you are confident that your vote matters (Yeah, it really doesn’t.) and I am sure that after voting, you will drive home with a sense of accomplishment.

And there is the problem…

No, not you voting (but your vote really doesn’t matter), but you driving.

So, I am asking that we create a new holiday, or day of observance.

The first Thursday following the first Wednesday of November shall be Don’t Drive Day.

Why? Well, first of all, to encourage people to take alternate means of transportation to and from work, play, school, or the running of chores. Secondly, to help people realize how easy it is to get around without the tyranny of a motorized vehicle. Finally, to get people out of the glass and metal boxes of privacy that keeps you from noticing the people around you. (This can be both good and bad as someone who sat next to me on the bus last week was the spitting image and size of Precious [complete with young child].)

In addition, you will be doing something that does matter, casting a vote with your feet, and maybe making the world a little bit better during the first week of November.

Oh, and if you say that it isn’t practical for you to use public transportation because you live too far from work or you live in some Godforsaken ‘burb-clave that doesn’t believe in sustainable communities, well, that’s your own damn fault.

And the one last thing that I care to offer is that riding a bus is perfectly safe. I do it all the time. JMFJT tried to claim yesterday that riding CDTA was unsafe or dangerous. The highway after a couple of football games were played…yeah. The bus is a lot safer.