“Learn to fear the automobile. It is not the trillion-dollar deficit that will finally destroy America. It is the automobile. Congressional studies of future highway needs are terrifying. A typical projection shows that when your generation is middle-aged, Interstate 95 between Miami and Fort Lauderdale will have to be 22 lanes wide to avert total paralysis of south Florida. Imagine an entire country covered with asphalt. My grandfather’s generation shot horses. Yours had better learn to shoot automobiles.”
That paragraph is taken from a commencement address given by Russell Baker in 1995. You can find the full text of the article here and it is a great speech. (Credit to Eric, who found this speech his senior year.) I could not get this part of the speech out of my head today, as my sis, my two nephews and I ventured out to run some errands and were stuck in traffic for the better part of three hours.
The other direction was just as bad…
But we made the best of it, rocking out to my iPod while the kiddos watched cartoons in the back. Our first stop was the San Antonio Temple, where they have a fairly decent distribution center and my sis needed some supplies. I took the boys around the temple grounds and took some pics…
We grabbed some Macaroni Grill take-home for dinner, and headed back. By this time, the boys were weary of cartoons and wanted to jam with us to music. Fortunately, they are being raised by brilliant parents who have taught them well, and they requested a smattering of U2 songs. Here is my nephew playing air guitar to “Vertigo.” Although it kinda looks like he’s flashing gang signs.
Before this trip, I jokingly complained to my sister that we never go out when I come to visit–we pretty much stick to her house, watching classic movies, listening to music and playing with the kids. So today I blamed her for planning a massive accident/interstate closure in San Antonio to make me NOT want to go out for the rest of the time I’m here. We left her house at 3:30 this afternoon, got home at 7, and spent maybe 45 minutes out of the car. It was quality bonding time, though.
I really dig that speech. Nice find.
I’m glad you like it! My student won a couple of speech tournaments delivering that speech (there’s an event where students can take a speech and re-cut it, find new emphases, etc.). I never tired of hearing it.