Originally Posted by College3.0

Yes, I am a firm believer that there is usually a "thing behind the thing" when it comes to people and their behavior. Most people are not even aware that they are isolating themselves. Cars are inherently isolating.... for example imagine yourself at a red light for a long period of time, or in a traffic jam on a freeway. You are physically very close to many people, yet exquisitely isolated. Would you make eye contact with the person stuck in traffic next to you. Or would you avoid eye contact because it feels "awkward"? Most people pull back from and try to escape even *very* tiny amounts of relational uncomfortableness, such as in this example. Living in the suburbs is even better, as you can drive your car directly into your garage, close the door, and you can effectively never have to so much as look at or speak to your neighbors.

But as I said, this is not a new revelation about the souls of people. See Robert Frost's "Mending Wall", for example. Human souls are old things, and they haven't changed since they were first new.... we still prefer comfort, ease, and the illusion of safety to real wisdom or self-understanding.

I'll venture a guess that in five hundred or one thousand years, there will be no more automobiles. But it won't be because people will have changed; they'll still seek what is easy and individualistic. As it relates to transportation, at least, only the technology and source(s) of energy will have changed.